SOWING of the second rice crop is 100 per cent complete in the five rice producing regions of Guyana – Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Region 3 (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara), Region 4 (Demerara/Mahaica), Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) and 6 (East Berbice/ Corentyne). 

Some 225,000 acres of rice have been cultivated with a projected target of 310,000 tonnes.

General Secretary Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (RPA), Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said the second crop is proceeding very well, notwithstanding the recent payment challenge in the industry.
Seeraj addressed the issue of weather also and said it is has been good so far for the industry. “The weather is expected to be dry; rice does well in dry conditions…we may have to do some work in the area of drainage and irrigation, but we are not expecting any major problems,” he said.

EXPORT MARKETS
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy at a meeting last month with the farmers on the Essequibo Coast to address the issue of delayed payments by millers, said that the Government is in the process of negotiating with markets in Central America and Africa.
Only last week, an invitation was received to send a team to Africa to negotiate terms for purchasing rice from Guyana.
In an invited comment on this subject, Dr. Ramsammy said that they are working very hard to finalise Africa as a buyer of Guyana’s rice, which will be a good possibility of expanding Guyana’s export market. He said: “That party has expressed interest in buying rice from Guyana.”
That aside, he said shipments to Venezuela, Europe and Haiti are continuous. Shipments to Belize and Panama (Central America), a new market acquired last year, have been continuous.
Seeraj noted that to date, 240,000 tonnes of rice and paddy have been exported. “Last year July, the rice and paddy exported was approximately 190,000 tonnes. Meanwhile this year we saw 240,000 tonnes being exported. This is as a result of the increased production in the first crop.”
The first rice crop brought in a record-breaking 315,000 tonnes, which is not only the largest single crop, but also surpassed the annual targets made by the industry prior to 2000.

PAYMENTS TO FARMERS
Millers are continuing to make payments to rice farmers across the rice producing regions and to date, of the $23.3B worth of paddy produced, over $21B has been paid out.
“The monies paid are in excess of 80 per cent of the amount of what was owed, so a small percentage is still to be paid,” he said.
The RPA head added that farmers want, and rightly so, to be paid on time and the Government is working closely with both farmers and millers to ensure that this issue is addressed. He added that, currently, Leguan is receiving attention, since farmers are still experiencing problem with payments.
“We are working closely with millers to improve this situation… what we are doing is working to ensure that mechanisms are in place for the millers to access the funding they need to make the payments to the farmers, since the paddy they purchase are not exported right away, but done in tranches,” Seeraj said.

VALUE ADDED
Another of Guyana’s major undertaking to ensure expanded markets is focusing on value- added rice, Seeraj said. He said the millers have indicated their desire to go into packaging, which the RPA is closely discussing with them.
According to him, export packaging is already being done in the rice industry.
He explained that another value-added product, thus far, in the industry is its specialty rice, which is similar to the Indian Basmati rice line.
Guyana’s aromatic rice, the Bengal Aromatic Rice, was introduced in late 2013, and was developed after years of experimentation at the Agriculture Ministry’s rice research facility at Burma in Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara.
Guyana’s aromatic line of rice was researched and developed by a local group of rice researchers led by Dr. Mahendra Persaud at the Guyana Rice Research Centre. The team took about four years to develop the line before allowing the first commercial production.
The rice was harvested by a farmer in Bengal Village, Corentyne who has 60 acres of land, and was packaged by the Ministry of Agriculture. Seeraj also indicated that RPA and the Ministry are aiming to increase both parboiled rice and packaging.

COST OF INPUT
Seeraj also indicated that RPA extension services also cater to the improvement of theoretical knowledge of the basic business skills needed for the success of the farmers.
The RPA head also addressed the issue of the high cost of inputs for the farmers, which is an ongoing matter. He noted that a year and a half ago, the RPA found sources for urea fertiliser at a reduced price. Likewise, another objective of the extension programme, currently, is seeking different supply sources of the other inputs.

(By Sandy Agasen)