Georgetown : The rice industry despite challenges of climate change and other adverse conditions continued its upwards trend in 2011, recording its highest ever production.
Guyana produced 401,904 tonnes of rice, an increase of over 11% or 40,000 tonnes as against the 361, 525 tonnes of 2010.
There was an increase in the acreages of rice sown with a total of 141,588 hectares and, an increase in paddy production as well with output at 618,314 tonnes compared to 2010 when the figures were 135,550 hectares for cultivation and 556,193 metric tonnes paddy produced.
This steady increased in rice production can be attributed to the administration’s continued investment in programmes and initiatives to support the rice farmers through agencies such as the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB).
Over the past five years the GRDB restructured its research efforts to better able to serve the farmers and other stakeholders and organized research programmes have been conceived that have steadily changed not only the environment in which rice is grown, but the success of the crop.
In 2011, Guyana exported a total of 3000,000 tonnes, with more than 160, 000 tonnes of that amount being exported to neighbouring Venezuela.
Rice export earned Guyana more than US $169M in 2011.
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