–President Ali announces, says livestock, aquaculture ventures will unlock new streams of income

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali has outlined a new diversification initiative aimed at boosting incomes and strengthening resilience within the agricultural sector.

Speaking on the government’s broader plan to modernise food production at the opening of GuyExpo 2025 last week, President Ali announced that rice farmers will receive support to convert a portion of their existing lands into complementary livestock and aquaculture ventures.

“We are going to help them, support them in converting two acres in every 10 acres that will allow them to achieve higher value of income, that would allow them to achieve diversification within their existing production frame, that would allow them to achieve resilience and profitability,” the President said.

According to President Ali, the shift will allow farmers to tap into higher-value income streams without disrupting their primary rice operations.

“We’re going to help rice farmers to convert at least two acres in every 10 acres into livestock farming, swine production, small ruminants, cage-crabbing and aquaculture.”

This forms part of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration’s wider agricultural transformation agenda, which seeks to expand local food production, encourage innovation, and strengthen long-term sustainability across the sector.

DEVELOPMENT BANK

The President announced too that the forthcoming Guyana Development Bank which will be capitalised with a minimum of US$200 million will place strong emphasis on supporting agriculture, tourism, services, and other value-creating activities, ultimately generating “tens of thousands of business opportunities.”

The Guyana Development Bank will also offer loans with no collateral requirement and a zero per cent interest rate up to a predetermined threshold, which will be unveiled in the 2026 National Budget.

“The bank will focus heavily on the agriculture sector, the tourism sector, the services sector — any activity that deals with value creation,” he added.

This financial institution will be operationalised by 2026.

Already, the government has invested $2 billion in price support, ensuring that farmers receive at least $4,000 per bag of paddy.

Additionally, the government has supplied millions of dollars in fertiliser and seed-paddy insurance; removed VAT on machinery, equipment, and agro-chemicals; negotiated and settled Panama’s $1.5 billion debt to local millers and zero-rated the Guyana Rice Development Board’s (GRDB) sales commission in 2025.

In addition to this, rice farmers in Guyana now have access to crop insurance for the first time.

Rice farmers will see a further $2.7 billion being invested in the sector.

According to the President, farmers will see an injection of $300 per bag of paddy.

NEW RICE TARGETS

Despite climate pressures and recent global gluts in the rice market, Guyana continues to record strong production gains. The country is set to produce 820,000 metric tonnes of rice.

“This is a very important industry; we not only have to maintain it, but we have to expand it. Our objective in the coming years from now is to produce a million tonnes of rice, so we want Guyana to be one of the main food-producing countries in the region,” Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said last week during an engagement with farmers.

In fact, the sector saw a 13.9 per cent growth during the first half of 2025.  Data from GRDB shows that 410,194 tonnes of rice was produced between January and June 2025, up from 362,030 tonnes for the same period last year. Officials attributed the increase largely to favourable weather conditions and consistent yields, with the first crop of 2025 achieving an average of 6.6 tonnes per hectare, the same as in 2024.

The country’s production has seen a steady increase over the past four years. In 2020, the first crop averaged  5.7 tonnes and by 2024, it had increased to 6.6 tonnes per hectare.

This incremental increase in rice production has been ongoing since 2021, when production was 559,789 tonnes. In 2022, it increased to 610,595 tonnes, and 653,706 tonnes in 2023.