Guyana has awarded the contract for the first phase of a climate-controlled rice storage hub at Onderneeming, Region Two, with the phase valued at G$1 billion and a sod-turning ceremony scheduled for Friday.
The Department of Public Information said the facility is intended to provide 10,000 tonnes of storage capacity and benefit approximately 2,000 rice farmers along the Essequibo Coast. The investment is designed to improve post-harvest management and give growers more flexibility over when they sell paddy.
Why the project matters
Storage constraints can force farmers to sell soon after harvest, when supply is high and prices may be weaker. Climate-controlled capacity gives producers an additional tool to preserve crop quality while considering later market offers.
The latest announcement moves the project beyond an earlier development commitment. In September, the Ministry of Agriculture said construction was expected to begin in the second half of 2026 and described the hub as Guyana’s first facility of its kind. The new disclosure adds a contract award, a first-phase value and a scheduled groundbreaking.
Financing and sector support
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha linked the storage project to wider support for rice producers, including the government’s 2026 Budget commitment to expand climate-controlled silo capacity over five years.
He also said the Guyana Development Bank could provide small farmers with interest-free, collateral-free loans of about G$1 million to G$1.5 million, reducing reliance on millers for input financing. That financing claim is attributed to the minister and is separate from the awarded storage-hub contract.
For investors and agricultural operators, the project signals continued public investment in post-harvest infrastructure and a policy focus on improving the bargaining position and financing access of primary producers. The announced sod-turning is a project-advancement milestone, not evidence that the facility is complete or operational.
Image: Rice-sector infrastructure illustration published by the Department of Public Information, Guyana. Credit: Department of Public Information, Guyana.
