-Targeting the development of a rice variety to yield 6.5 tonnes per hectare
Agriculture has been touted by stakeholders as essentially being about food, understandably so, and for many in the sector the bottom line of all efforts is improved productivity, which translates to improved livelihoods for farmers. It is no different for the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and its General Manager, Mr. Jagnarine Singh, told the Guyana Chronicle that the Board’s focus is on developing a rice variety which would increase farmers’ yields to 6.5 tonnes per hectare.
“Right now most farmers are averaging 4.8 tonnes and some get about five…what we do is to provide quality seed paddy so that the crop’s yield would improve,” Singh said.
The GRDB General Manager explained that, currently, the Board focuses on the entire spectrum of the rice industry – from production to marketing.
Four regional quality control laboratories are operational at the regional offices of GRDB through which the Board’s mandate is advanced.
The central reference laboratory is located at the Head Office in Georgetown.
The regional laboratories are located in: Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam); Crane, West Coast Demerara, Region Three (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara); Burma, Region Five (Mahaica/ Berbice); and Corriverton, East Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne).
Singh said, “Farmers are supported by the GRDB in a very direct way.”
He pointed out that farmers access seed paddy from the agency at a subsidized cost, they are educated and made aware through different sessions, including the Farmer’s Field Schools, they are assisted with disease and pest management, and they can access technical support via GRDB’s extension services arm, among other interventions/assistance provided by the agency.
“We have about 27 extension officers and they are shared with the RPA (the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association),” Singh said.
The functions of extension services, he explained, are:
•    To provide technical production information to meet farmers needs;
•    To engage in off-station testing of new varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, water management practices and land preparation operations developed by the research station;
•    To work in collaboration with farmers in identifying production problems and advising on corrective measures; and
•    To provide field services in terms of   crop survey, reporting and distribution of seed paddy, etcetera.
The specific objectives of extension services are primarily to create conditions whereby farmers have access to appropriate and state-of-the-art technologies and methods for efficient production on a sustainable basis; as well as to identify and effectively transfer improved rice varieties and crop management practices that enable farmers to produce high and stable yields of Rice.
The role of the extension service at the level of the GRDB has its origins in one of the mandated functions of the organization, which is to establish facilities for the conduct of research and to conduct research relating to rice; also to extend to farmers, through an established system, the benefits derived from such research.
The GRDB General Manager noted that the extension services offer substantial support to farmers as improved productivity is collectively pursued.
Research
A more direct approach to improved productivity, Singh said, is the research component of GRDB’s work.
GRDB’s research areas are Varietal Development (Plant Breeding), Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition (Agronomy), Weed Management, Insect Management (Entomology), Disease Management (Pathology) and Farm Management and Seed Production.
One of the more recent researches in rice varieties is the Advanced Yield Trials (AYT), which comprises of 26 high yielding early to medium (104-118 days) selections from the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR). Support is also provided by the International Rice Research Institution (IRRI).
This trial was conducted at Hampton Court, Essequibo, during the first crop 2006.  In the second crop of 2006 the same trial was conducted at three locations (Burma Rice Research Station, Black Bush Polder and Hampton Court).
Based on the two seasons’ data, eight strains were selected for further testing in the first crop of 2007 AYT.
Some of these strains indicate a yield potential in the proximity of seven tonnes per hectare, with good milling and cooking qualities, a plus for the GRDB, considering their goal of 6.5 tonnes per hectare.
Other tests were done under the AYT, with the primary aim of maintaining stocks of genetically pure seed of all commercial rice varieties.
“Most recently, we released two new rice varieties…(but) our research is more than new varieties; it also deals with improvement of the Integrated Crop Management System and the Integrated Pest Management System,” he said.
The four guiding principles of Integrated Pest Management are: to grow a healthy crop; to conserve natural enemies; to conduct regular field observation; and to allow farmers to become Integrated Pest Management experts.
The GRDB General Manager said that progress is being made in these areas.
He added, too, that the Board is looking at varieties that are both resistant and tolerant to different conditions.
Quality Production
When asked about quality of produce, Singh explained that no batch of rice leaves the mill without a GRDB Quality Certificate.
He explained that quality control is very important, expressly in changing and increasingly competitive markets, and to achieve its main objectives the GRDB has, as part of its mandate, to:
•    Grade and certify the grades of all paddy received into or proposed to be delivered to a rice factory for milling;
•    Grade and certify the grades of all paddy and rice intended for sale in Guyana;
•    Grade and certify the grades of all paddy and rice intended for export;
•    To collect and make available to the rice industry relevant data relating to grading of paddy and rice;
•    To train persons to grade paddy or rice, or both, and to certify and license persons who are, in the opinion of the Board, qualified to grade paddy or rice, or both;
•    To determine suitable types of packaging for sale of product in Guyana; as well as for exportation of paddy and rice; and
•    To lay down and maintain technical standards consistent with international classifications for grading paddy and rice, among others.
The GRDB General Manager said that the Board plays an important role in ensuring that Guyana’s rice is of the quality required, as stated in contractual agreements, for example with the Venezuela Rice deal.
Singh added that these efforts have been, and can only continue to be, successful because of the partnerships that have been formed.
He observed that the GRDB partners with different international entities, as well as local organisations, such as the National Agricultural Research Institution (NARI) and the RPA, among others.
“Partnerships assist our progress,” Singh posited.
The GRDB was established in 1995 and the three entities that were controlling the state’s interests in the industry, prior to the formation of GRDB, were dissolved.
These entities were the Guyana Rice Export Board (GREB), Guyana Rice Milling & Marketing Authority (GRMMA) and the National Paddy and Rice Grading Centre (NPRGC).
GRDB’s main objectives are: to develop the rice industry in Guyana and to promote the expansion of the export trade in the said industry; to establish facilities for the conduct of research relating to rice; and to extend to rice farmers, through an established system, the benefits derived from such research; also to engage in such promotional and developmental activities which the Board deems necessary for the purpose of developing the rice industry.
Singh stressed that GRDB is doing its best to provide all the services that it can to the famers to enhance their productivity and improve their lives.