GuySuCo to start planting rice, cassava

Jun 18, 2025 News

…as President pushes struggling entity to diversify operations

President Irfaan Ali

Kaieteur News – The government of Guyana has announced plans to diversify the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) beyond sugar and its by-products by producing rice, corn, and cassava.

The announcement was made by President Irfaan Ali on Monday at the 77th anniversary observation of the Enmore Martyrs, at East Coast Demerara, where he outlined a strategy to reimagine GuySuCo’s role in Guyana’s agriculture sector.

“We have to think strategically of how we will expand the role of GuySuCo. And perhaps it is time for us to reimagine GuySuco’s role altogether. Why must its mandate stop only at sugar? GuySuCo can and must become a hub of rural economic development,” the president said.

Despite the government pumping billions of dollars into the sugar corporation, the company has failed to meet targets and, more so, become profitable.

President Ali said that GuySuCo’s land, infrastructure and knowledge base can support the production of other crops as well as livestock operations, agro-processing hubs, farmer trading and extension services, fabrication and engineering services.

“The global machinery industry historically recruited machinists and fabricators from GuySuCo. We have to leverage this human capital and human potential. And in embracing this future that I speak of, there will be some exciting opportunities. Crop diversification, skills diversification, income diversification,” the president announced.

President Ali said that the plan to diversify GuySuCo will benefit sugar workers. “We don’t only want the sugar workers to rely on their income from sugar. We want to convert acreage of land into high-yielding production, high-value production, but production that is owned by the workers,” he said.

President Ali also revealed that the government plans to co-invest with workers to establish new economic activities and that more than 20 business proposals have already been submitted for manufacturing and other ventures in Enmore.

“That is why we have to put in this infrastructure so rapidly,” he added, highlighting the urgency of these developments.
Looking ahead, the president also announced that an additional 3,000 hectares of land will be converted to support mechanisation in 2025. This is in addition to the more than 5,000 hectares already converted.

The President’s proposal to diversify the sugar company comes as GuySuCo continues to operate at a loss. The APNU+AFC administration had closed four major sugar estates – Skeldon, Wales, Enmore and Rose Hall.

The decision to close the estates was taken because the sugar industry’s cash flow was insufficient to maintain operations. The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), while in opposition, had vowed to revive the sugar industry once it regained power.

Fulfilling its promise, the PPP/C government pumped billions into the sector that has failed to return to profitability.

In 2020, the government boasted that Dubai saw sweetness in Guyana’s sugar and said that it will partner with Guyana to revitalise the industry and make it profitable. The government’s announcement was made following a visit by an eight-member delegation from the United Arad Emirates (UAE) that year.

However, it was reported in August 2024 that the government’s hope in sugar revival fell flat after Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said that no deal was made. Nevertheless, he argued that sugar production is the primary source of job opportunity for families in Berbice – a strong support base for his party- and said that removing such disposable income from people will affect them gravely.

This year, government allocated $13 billion for GuySuCo in the national budget.

During the 2025 national budget presentation, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh said the sugar sector is projected to grow by 115.4% this year, with a production target of approximately 101,000 metric tonnes. His prediction was made following another decline in sugar production in 2024.

GuySuCo has continuously blamed the weather for its inability to meet its targets.

Recently, GuySuCo attributed its underperformance in the 2025 first crop to heavy rainfall and ongoing labour shortages. In a statement in May, GuySuCo said that its first crop production stood at 15,980 metric tonnes, falling short of yet another target.

Cassava, Enmore Martyrs, GUYSUCO, rice

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