Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, yesterday said that while information is still being gathered, the first round of payments to rice farmers, from a $2.5 billion government advance began on Wednesday of last week.
He stated that Guyana will begin exporting its first shipment of rice to Venezuela after he returns from visiting Caracas and finalising the deal on May 16 and as such the government advance was necessary to pay rice farmers who were in critical need. The late signing of the annual rice agreement with Venezuela had caused a significant backlash; rice millers were unable to pay farmers due to the backlog of rice that was awaiting shipment.
Dr Ramsammy on Saturday during a meeting on the Essequibo Coast also established a
