…says GRPA General-Secretary
There are several challenges facing the current rice crop, but General-Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA), Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj, is optimistic that this crop will do well.
This year the rice target is 4.2 million bags and last crop a bag of paddy went for as much as $3,500.
However, Seeraj said it is much too soon to predict the price paddy will carry this crop, but he noted that the current markets are ideal.
He added that the October/ March crop will be able to meet the requirements of another rice contract with Venezuela.
“We satisfied the requirement of 35,000 tonnes of paddy under the existing conditions and have almost met the requirement for 10,000 tonnes of rice. We are looking at the second crop to satisfy the next contract,” he said.
According to Seeraj, the next crop is expected to provide Guyana’s neighbour with 50,000 tonnes of paddy and 20,000 tonnes of white rice.
Additionally, with the current state of the rice sector, the RPA General-Secretary said larger contracts from Venezuela can be accommodated.
“The shipment time, among other things, is excellent…the market in Venezuela is ideal and I do not foresee any difficulty with meeting the demands,” he said.
However, he reiterated that there are challenges, but noted that several steps are being taken to address these.

Weather Woes

The weather, Seeraj said, is of primary concern.
“The weather is expected to clear. It is not good for rice and the heavy overcast conditions are affecting the flowering stage of the crop. The flowers do not open for the optimum hours to facilitate pollination when the conditions are overcast, since they respond to the intensity of the light,” he said.
Inasmuch as there is a need for sunny weather, Seeraj noted that there must be a balance since rice is an irrigated crop and needs water.
He said, “There needs to be water in the fields to control weeds and in the flowering stage the water is needed so that the grains can be formulated.”
Seeraj noted that in Region Three (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara) this is a major problem.
Region Three, in addition to Regions Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam) and Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne), according to Seeraj, have a problem with maintaining the dams.
He explained that farmers prepared their land during the rainy weather and some of the dams were compromised.
“This will pose a challenge when it is time for harvesting,” he said.
He said the regional authorities are being engaged to maximize the “good days”, sunny days, to have the dams ready for harvesting.
Another issue that remains a challenge is the paddy bugs. The paddy bug, or ‘stink bug’, is the most common pest in the rice sector. In particular, when the rice grains are attached during the milky stage, their contents are sucked out by the bugs, resulting in empty glumes or wind paddy. As a result, yields are reduced.
Data suggest that the paddy bug population increases during rainy periods.
Entomologist at the Burma Rice Research Station, Ms Viviane Baharally, told the Guyana Chronicle that the reduction of temperature during the rainy season is optimum temperature for paddy bug survival.
Also, during the rainy season, grass grows faster and is another food for the insects.
The humidity level in the rainy season is also good for reproduction, hence the increased population of the paddy bugs, the Entomologist said.
For these reasons, Baharally said, farmers are urged to engage in best practices, such as maintenance of proper sanitation in the rice fields.
Seeraj said to date over 40 field sessions were held across the country to make farmers more aware and equipped to deal with the paddy bugs.
He maintained that there is no outbreak of paddy bugs, rather the sessions, done in collaboration with the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), is a proactive approach to improve awareness.
He pointed out that these sessions are quintessential for farmers who are “lazy” and are not properly checking their farms for the presence of paddy bug populations.

Illegal Agro-Chemicals

Another challenge in the sector is illegal agro-chemicals entering the local market. Legal distributors are faced with unfair competition and the chemicals could create serious health hazards and have severe and negative impact in the environment, as well as the crops.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud recently alluded to this problem and said the government will look at toughening up on enforcement against smuggling of chemicals, in partnership with the Customs authorities.
Seeraj said the RPA’s position is that all dealers in agro-chemicals must be licensed, but he acknowledged that all are not; he said the system needs to be regularised.
At present, the volume of the chemicals is not a major cause for concern, but there needs to be a system in place to ensure that the situation does not escalate.

Delayed Payments

Seeraj also addressed the issue of non-payment by millers, in particular the Mahaicony Rice Mill Limited (MRLM).
He said there is continued difficulty with getting the mill to meet its obligations to farmers; and despite efforts; no contact has been made with the company’s principal owner.
MRML in January had pledged to honour its debts to farmers, when the Agriculture Minister mandated the GRDB to address the issue of non-payment. GRDB and RPA, in a meeting with MRL, were assured that farmers would be paid. In May millers were once more chided for non-payment by the Agriculture Minister.
Seeraj told the Guyana Chronicle that MRML has as much as $300M outstanding in payment for the last crop and was represented in court twice in the last month to address non-payment.
MRML reportedly controls 40 per cent of the paddy purchases in Guyana and has mills across the country.
“This is a serious cause for concern…more farmers have indicated their desire to take their matters to court,” Seeraj said.
Legal support is available to the farmers from the GRDB and moves are being made at the policymakers’ level to ensure that the interest of the small man is protected.
In 1998, government enacted the Rice Factories Act, No.8 of 1998. The Act sought to regularise the construction of mills, paddy grading and purchasing, and improve the overall quality of rice exports. On January 11, 2007, the Amendment of the Rice Factories Act was passed in the National Assembly which made it mandatory that millers pay a minimum of 95 percent of outstanding amounts owed to farmers at the end of the year before their mill/export licences are renewed.
At present, the Ministry of Agriculture is taking steps to amend the Rice Factory Act so that rice farmers can have some added protection. The amendment is expected to ensure that millers have to pay every farmer 95 percent before they receive a licence. This must be completed within 42 days of supply.
The Rice Factories (Amendment) Bill 2010 was read for the first time in the National Assembly in July.