Govt to soon engage farmers on solutions as fertiliser prices climb to $12,000 per bag

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha on Wednesday announced that the government will soon begin discussions with farmers to explore possible solutions in response to the sharp rise in fertiliser prices driven by ongoing global developments.

He was at the time addressing farmers at Wakenaam Island, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

“Only last crop, or earlier this year, we bought fertiliser for as low as $6,000 a bag. Fertiliser has gone up now to about $12,000. You want to know the future, what will happen to you, come the crop coming. You want to know what will happen to the future of the rice industry, how we’ll move to address the concerns. Well, as I’m speaking here, we have not made any decision yet on what will come,” Mustapha said.

He indicated that farmers will be engaged shortly, noting that “we are already starting discussion on those issues”.

“I’m hoping that we can have similar measures put into place that we had before, in terms of fertiliser for farmers,” he added.

Last year, farmers benefitted from a $2 billion fertiliser subsidy initiative as part of the government’s efforts to support the agriculture sector.

Nevertheless, Minister Mustapha urged a shift in mindset and approach, noting that many farmers are not fully leveraging available innovations.

“We can’t continue to do things how we used to do it ten and fifteen years ago,” he contended.

He referenced the launch of the nano-fertiliser in October 2025, lamenting that many farmers are not utilising it. The Ministry of Agriculture had noted that the nano-fertiliser boosts yield while minimizing environmental impacts. Additionally, it was reported that the nano-fertiliser supplies approximately 80 per cent of the nutrients needed by crops, compared to 35 per cent achieved with conventional fertilisers.

Addressing the stakeholders at Wakenaam Island, Minister Mustapha emphasised that the nano-fertiliser can work in tandem with the traditional fertiliser.

He explained to farmers that, “you’re using less urea, and you can use the nano-fertiliser to supplement the urea. But our farmers are not taking up these initiatives and taking up these measures.”

Moreover, he highlighted that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is subsidising the nano-fertiliser, noting that farmers “must take up that measure that we put into place.”