Paddy output up for first crop – Ministry

Paddy production for the first crop this year is up by 26% over last year although exports are down over the same period.

According to a release on Wednesday from the Ministry of Agriculture, end-of-crop figures provided by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) showed that farmers reaped a total of 89,290 hectares or 23% over the first crop 2016 resulting in a paddy production of 518,667 metric tonnes of paddy – 26 percent more than for the same period last year.

The release said that General Manager (ag) of the GRDB,  Allison Peters was upbeat about the performance of the industry.