Essequibo rice farmers get big payout from paddy exports – over 600,000 US Dollars

About 45 Essequibo rice farmers on Wednesday received 90% payment for paddy exports to Venezuela. Two cheques amounting to over $600,000 US Dollars were handed over to the farmers by Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud. The payment represents 5000 tonnes of paddy exported to Venezuela this year. The Minister is pleased with the payments for the current rice crop and said that next year is expected to be better for the rice industry with the figure surpassing 263,000 tonnes of paddy exports for this year.