Rice farmers in Guyana will receive government support payments even if they do not have bank accounts, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said on Saturday, seeking to ease concerns over the distribution process.
Speaking to farmers at De Hoop Village in Region Five, Mustapha said beneficiaries without bank accounts will be paid by cheque after the registration and verification process is completed.
The government recently announced a support package for rice farmers for the first crop of 2026. Farmers cultivating 50 acres or less will receive $15,000 per acre, while those cultivating more than 50 acres will receive $10,000 per acre.
“This doesn’t mean that you must have a bank account before you register. We will have the cheques available for people who don’t have bank accounts. We will not pay the money into the bank,” Mustapha said.
Farmers will register using vouchers received after selling their paddy, while acreage information will be verified through the Guyana Rice Development Board and the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA), he said.
Submitted vouchers will also be cross-checked against records from rice millers, while local committees will assist with monitoring the process to prevent abuse of the system.
Mustapha said cheques would be distributed directly to beneficiaries once verification is completed, similar to the government’s previous $300 per bag paddy support payout.
“Nobody should be scared that they won’t get the money. Everybody will receive the money, every single person,” he said.
