Dense forests contain greenheart and mora trees, which are used in the lumber industry. Animals include anteaters, monkeys, and brilliantly colored birds and insects. Coconuts, coffee, cacao, citrus fruit, corn, manioc, and other tropical fruit and vegetables are grown primarily for home consumption. Large areas of rough pasture exist in the interior savannas. Substantial numbers of cattle, hogs, sheep, and chickens are raised.
Cultivation is confined almost entirely to the narrow coastal strip of rich, alluvial soil.
Agricultural expansion requires heavy expenditures for protection against flooding and for drainage and irrigation, because part of the strip is below the high-tide mark of the sea and rivers and because of the heavy seasonal rainfall. The government of Guyana is making efforts to increase the amount of land available for cultivation through reclamation projects. Almost all of the harvest was made up of hardwoods, used mainly in construction and furniture making and as fuel. Fishing is concentrated along the Atlantic coast. The annual catch in the late 1980s was about 41,600 metric tons.