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Dear Editor, At a recent meeting between President Irfaan Ali and executives of the National Milling Company (NAMILCO), new horizons emerged for Guyana’s agro-industrial sector. As NAMILCO embarks on a bold $10 billion expansion, the President challenged local industries to explore the production of cassava flour—a proposal that marries agricultural innovation with the country’s economic diversification drive. Amid the enthusiasm, key questions arise: how viable is cassava flour production compared to rice flour, a crop already abundant across Guyana’s fields? And which could deliver stronger value for farmers and the wider market? According to market research by 6Wresearch, Guyana’s cassava industry is poised for a strong trajectory, expanding by up to 53.6 percent regionally through 2027, fueled by government incentives for local value-added production. Cassava’s versatility — used in food, feed, and even bioethanol — positions it as a strategic crop for diversification. Globally, cassava flour is projected to reach a value of USD 9.3 billion by 2035, growing steadily at an annual rate of 6.5 percent. Its gluten-free nature aligns with evolving global consumer preferences for health-conscious and plant-based diets. The increasing demand for “clean-label” and sustainable ingredients strengthens cassava’s appeal for international markets, giving local processors potential for export gains and premium pricing. Yet, sustainability depends on infrastructure. Cassava farming in Guyana remains heavily smallholder-driven, with fluctuating yields due to inconsistent weather patterns, limited access to modern drying and milling technology, and challenges in maintaining steady supply chains. Expanding cassava production for industrial-scale flour milling will require coordinated investment in farming clusters, mechanization, and farmer training. Existing Abundance, Limited Uptake: Rice, on the other hand, offers immediate scalability. Guyana’s rice sector enjoys large-scale mechanization, irrigation networks, and consistent surplus produc-ion that often outpaces local milling capacity. Converting a portion of this sur-plus into rice flour could provide a ready-made alternative, tapping into both domestic and regional demand for gluten-free products. The infrastructure advan-tage cannot be ignored: rice mills and transportation systems already exist. However, profitability remains a sticking point. Price imbalances between farmers and millers have long undermined the sustainability of the value chain, with farmers in some regions compelled to dispose of excess harvests due to uncom-petitive farmgate prices. Without reforms in pricing and purchase guarantees, even a rice flour initiative could face similar challenges in ensuring equitable value-sharing across stakeholders. From a profitability standpoint, cassava flour carries higher potential margins per unit volume, particularly for export-driven models targeting specialty food markets in North America and Europe where gluten-free flours command a premium. Rice flour, though lower in profit per unit, benefits from immediate raw material availability and lower operational risk due to existing production systems. For farmers, cassava offers an opportunity to integrate into higher-value supply chains through guaranteed off-take contracts, provided processors invest in processing and logistics hubs near major cassava-growing regions. For millers, rice flour offers lower entry costs and faster market deployment, but limited value differentiation unless targeted toward specialty or niche segments. President Ali’s call for cassava flour production is rooted in transforming rural livelihoods through industrial linkages. The key lies in synergy — integrating cassava and rice flour production into a broader national food security framework. A hybrid approach, leveraging rice’s reliability and cassava’s export promise, can maximize capacity utilization while cushioning supply risks. If implemented strategically, cassava flour could become Guyana’s flagship agro-industrial export within the next decade, offering better uplift to farmers through diversified income streams and making the country a Caribbean leader in gluten-free, locally sourced flours. Rice flour, meanwhile, remains the quick-return option—lower risk, but lower reward. The choice for Guyana is not one or the other; it’s about timing, scale, and value. The cassava flour pathway, though more capital-intensive, holds the transformative potential to elevate local agriculture into a globally competitive, value-adding industry—if the investments match the ambition. Hemdutt Kumar.
