According to the General Manager of the Guyana Rice Marketing Board, Mr. Jagnarine Singh rice production for the first crop of this year will match that of last year and there is also a possibility that it may even surpass it. The General Manager told this newspaper that with some 67% of rice lands harvested production stands at about 132,000 tonnes with another 40,000 hectares to be harvested and if 30,000 hectares are harvested then production would match that of last year’s first crop. Obviously, such an estimate is being made because of the advent of the rains which could prevent some lands from being harvested.
However, this is an extremely good performance bearing in mind the difficulties and challenges farmers had to endure. Of course the prolonged dry season brought on by the El Nino phenomenon was a major adverse factor, and in addition prices for inputs such as fertilisers, weedicides etc. increased appreciably.
Also some farmers experienced payment problems with rice millers which put them under severe financial stress while others are still struggling to recover from the devastating floods of 2004-2005.
Under these extremely trying conditions rice farmers continue to demonstrate their remarkable resilience, perseverance and unswerving commitment to an industry that is so vital our food security and national economy. And for this they must be given the highest commendation.
Many of us are only aware of rice only when it is in a palatable form, being totally oblivious of the back breaking toiling and sacrifice that farmers have to endure. They leave their homes very early in the mornings and return late in the evenings and whether there is rain or sunshine they have to work. They do not have a choice. And after their toiling they are under emotional stress wondering whether their crops would be destroyed or damaged by flooding, pests or disease. So they are always under physical and mental stress.
Those who are managing the industry must also be commended for ensuring that the industry continues to be successful and sustainable.
But apart from the local difficulties and challenges our rice farmers and the industry have to contend with global ones as well, brought about with trade liberalisation.
Singh alluded to the above pointing out that there is also a challenge in competing on a global market where there is more and more trade liberalisation around the world. He noted that the European Union is entering into bilateral agreements with many other trading partners and when this happens, although Guyana’s access is not reduced, more and more access is given to other parties, many of whom may be beneficiaries of subsidies, making it more difficult for Guyana to compete.
He said that Guyana has to compete with subsidized rice from the United States and the Far East. He said that what this means is that Guyana must improve its production and productivity. He said that the other big challenge is to find new and strategic markets, such as the arrangement that Guyana has entered into with Venezuela,
A typical example of the devastating effects of competing against subsidised rice is the case of Haiti. At the start of the 1980s, Haiti produced almost all of its own rice. But pressure from the international community – from the USA in particular – forced Haiti to open up its markets to foreign imports. As a result, Haiti has been flooded by cheap, subsidised rice from the USA. This has driven down the price of local rice, with appalling consequences for the people – one-fifth of Haiti’s population – who rely on rice production for a living.
Some rice farmers have had to leave their land in search of work in neighbouring Dominican Republic. Many have had to take their children out of school because they can’t pay the fees. And people are going hungry. As their incomes shrink, rice growers are unable to buy the foods that would give them and their families a well-balanced diet. Fifty per cent of children in Haiti are malnourished, with the highest rate in the rice-growing areas.
Markets are indeed crucial because they determine the prices that farmers will receive for their paddy and also the viability of the rice industry which is a key sector of the national economy as well as a source of livelihood of thousands of families; and direct and indirect employment for thousands of Guyanese.