Reviewing Burma research operations…
RICE Producers Association (RPA) General-Secretary, Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj, on Wednesday, endorsed the successes of Burma Rice Research Station, at a review involving stakeholders, including grassroots farmers. The facility operates under the purview of Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and, at the Burma, Mahaicony meeting, presentations were made on the areas of its operations, extension, plant breeding, agronomy, plant pathology and entomology.
Seeraj observed that the developments in the past year have been a collaborative effort, resulting from work done by trained scientists and technicians, as well practices inspired by the experience of farmers who have been involved for decades.
“We have seen a dramatic improvement in the yield and quality in the last few crops, for example, in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) the yield rose from 19 bags to around 27 bags of paddy,” he said.
Seeraj said, despite the successes, there is much more room for improvement, by making maximum use of the available resources.
GRDB’s Extension Manager, Mr. Kuldip Ragnauth described his department as a transfer mechanism, an established system through which the benefits of the work done at the station is extended.   
He said, among other things, including training and education, close to 10,000 bags of seed paddy were distributed in the rice producing Regions, Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), Four (Demerara/Mahaica), Five (Mahaica/Berbice) and Six.
Ragnauth said, for 2011, the seed production and distribution target is 20,000 bags.
He reported that a number of demonstrations and field days were also held where, in particular, improved practices were demonstrated.
Ragnauth said those undertakings saw an increase, from 1,032 farmers in the 2010 Spring crop to 2,961 in the Autumn crop and the amount of acreage cultivated rose from 41,855 acres to 82,780 acres.
“Our role is to continuously improve. We are here to ensure that the farmers have and use the best practices,” he stated.
Seeraj agreed that extension services have improved and there are increasing opportunities for farmers, who are provided with an environment where they express their views and interests without fear.

Competitive
In the area of plant breeding, Chief Scientist at Burma, Dr. Mahendra Persaud said developing superior rice varieties is a must for the sector to be competitive, strains that have high yields (7.5 to 8 tonnes per hectare), high quality and milling yield, blast resistant and tolerant of the major pests.
He concurred that improvements are evident in all those areas but acknowleged that more work is still to be done and Seeraj echoed the view, advocating a structured approach.
The agronomist, Mr. Gansham Payman said interactive studies were conducted to assess the effect of combing treatment products on a rice crop yield and, this year, they will be testing the manipulation of various factors aimed at improving output.
Seeraj pointed to the significant economic impacts of a crop succumbing to pests and diseases and called for more to be accomplished in both agronomy and plant pathology, although he recognised the challenges of conducting experiments in the different rice producing regions, where the environmental conditions vary.
He said, the focus of entomology should see improvement in crop protection and strengthening of existing mechanisms.
“If the industry does well, so do we and it is up to us to advance the sector by supporting the farmers who are the sector’s pillars,” Seeraj posited.
GRDB General Manager, Mr. Jagnarine Singh declared that the rice sector is a dynamic one, constantly changing and local bodies like the Research Station have the task of continuously improving practices in the interest of taking the industry forward.