AS the Administration continues to move towards a modern Guyana, the local rice industry on Tuesday saw the opening of its first ever seed cleaning facility.Head of State, Donald Ramotar earlier joined Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and officials from the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and the Rice Producers Association (RPA) for the auspicious event.   The President said, “It gives me great pleasure to be here to commission this plant which will make a contribution to our country and also to Region Six.”

This venture, the President said, is reflective of Government’s commitment to investing in every sector to fully modernise the country’s growing economy.
President Ramotar pointed out that over the years his Administration has been investing heavily in the rice industry, moving Guyana from a place where it once imported rice for local use to one where its export market is very high.
“Over the years, we have been investing heavily in the different kinds of infrastructure, the work we are doing in research, I want to congratulate the scientists… in 1990 the rice industry was reduced to producing only 90,000 tons of rice a year and we were importing rice,” he reminded.
The Head of State also recalled that at one time Italy was giving assistance to Guyana by supplying it with rice.
“Now we have reached the stage where we are producing enough. Farmers must be congratulated… why we have been able to improve production is the fact that the Government has been investing heavily in the industry over the years.”
According to President Ramotar, the Administration over the past ten years has spent in excess of $45B on drainage and irrigation which can be considered one of the most important aspects of agriculture.
Mention was also made of the many farming communities, including Bengal, Rose Hall, Numbers 43 and 66, and several others which have benefitted from drainage and irrigation structures, including pump stations.
Further, while acknowledging the fact that the industry has made significant contributions to the local economy, President Ramotar said he is aware of the challenges facing the industry, the main one being the price for paddy.
“…We are price takers and we don’t determine rice prices and what we constantly do is look for higher pricing markets for our farmers.” It is for this reason, he said, the Government is exploring other markets in Central America and Africa.

PRICE SUPPORT

President Ramotar also spoke of his Government’s plan to put a mechanism in place for price support to rice farmers in the future.

He also took the opportunity to emphasise to farmers the importance of adding value to their products which all starts with the quality of seeds they cultivate.
Citing the soon to be commissioned rice cereal factory on the Essequibo Coast, President Ramotar said it is his Administration’s plan to have similar initiatives, and is also looking at manufacturing of other products, including rice flour.

Touching on the area of reducing production cost in the rice industry, President Ramotar said it is his hope that other millers will move towards using the gasifier mechanism which has already been successfully operating at a mill on the Essequibo Coast.
“For all of these plans to be a reality, we need good quality planting materials. The rice industry has a very bright future and its importance continues to grow,” the President stated.
This seed cleaning facility was in the making since 2004, and the design was agreed on in 2011. However, after some hiccups with the contractor, the GRDB stepped in and completed the $70M facility. (GINA)