The rice sector produced 1,049,874 metric tonnes (mt) of paddy in 2019, marking the second highest annual production to date, according to the Guyana Rice Development’s Board (GRDB).
In a press release, which was published on the Department of Public Information (DPI) website, it was noted that the production was just 8,254 tonnes short of the 2015 record production.
Overall, a total of 16,528,024 bags of paddy (a rice equivalent of 682,418 mt) was produced and 178,628 hectares were sown, thereby equating to 93 bags of rice per hectare (38 bags of rice per acre).
“Guyana managed to produce this record amount of rice despite a number of challenges including extremely unfavourable weather conditions and some pest infestation. These challenges were dealt with head-on by the [GRDB],” it said, while adding that the agency spared no effort in ensuring that the extension and support services meted out to rice farmers were superior.
The release added that not only was the production in 2019 close to surpassing the 2015 national record but production has increased 28% since 2016 as well, which was credited to the efforts extended by the GRDB and the hard work of farmers.
Region Five remained the highest producing region, harvesting 454,476 mt of paddy (295,409 mt rice equivalent) at a 99% harvesting rate. Region Six followed with a total of 311,915 mt of paddy (202,745 mt rice equivalent). It was further noted that the result for the region represented its highest ever since it began paddy production. Region Six produced 4,910,444 bags of paddy, which represented a 25% increase.
