GENERAL Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association, Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj, has reported good output from the autumn rice crop despite adverse weather and other conditions. “Given the constraints we had, the weather, and getting the rain when we did not need it, and not getting it when we needed it, we did reasonably well”, he said.
This is heartening news because the rains posed a threat during the harvesting period. Fortunately though, this happened after most farmers had completed reaping and only a small proportion of the crop remained to be harvested.
The rains over recent years have created havoc with rice farmers, causing heavy financial losses. Their plight was further aggravated during a period of low paddy prices and high costs of inputs.
But they must be commended for staying the course despite all the adversities and challenges. They have remained resilient and have never lost confidence in the industry.
Perhaps that is why the rice industry has continued to thrive and is now rivalling sugar to become the country’s largest foreign exchange earner.
Several factors have helped to boost the confidence of farmers, including the tremendous emphasis the government has been placing on drainage and irrigation which is so vital to successful agricultural production.
The introduction of duty free concessions for agricultural machinery, spares, and fuel has also helped.
And in the aftermath of the devastating 2005 floods, the government intervened and worked out a deal with commercial banks to reschedule loans given to affected farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture has collaborated with other agencies to continue training and education for farmers, including in crop husbandry and prevention of pest infestation.
Greater focus is also being placed on scientific research with a view to developing higher yielding and disease resistant varieties of rice.
This year seems to be another good year for rice farmers as Mr. Seeraj has indicated that prices are good, bolstered further now that the Venezuelan market has been secured.
According to Mr. Seeraj: “Compared to the last two seasons, this crop benefited from an improvement in the prices (which) ranged between $2,800 and $3,400 a bag. For this crop, farmers, on average, are making a yield of 28 bags of paddy per acre and in some regions as much as 30 bags per acre.”
However, one recurring problem dampening harvesting is the poor state of access dams.
Mr. Seeraj alluded to this difficulty and correctly is imploring the authorities to address the issue.
He pointed out that in some areas, particularly in Region Six, the dams are in poor condition, making access to the fields difficult.
“These need to be repaired and right now farmers are doing what they have to…the spring crop 2011 has started and we are hoping for the best”, he said.
The regional administrations need to be more vigilant and responsive to the needs of the farmers because the general last minute approach certainly cannot suffice.
Overall, however, the industry is heading in the right direction and this is due to the resilience of the farmers and astute management.