FROM all indications it would appear that this will be another successful year for our local rice industry following on the path of last year’s record production of 401,904 tonnes of rice, an increase of over 11% or 40,000 tonnes as against the 361,525 tonnes of 2010.
We earned more than US$169M last year from rice exports which totalled 300,000 tonnes with some 160,000 tonnes being exported to neighbouring Venezuela.
This year again seems set for a success story as reports from officialdom have indicated that the first crop did very well and cultivation for the second crop is progressing well.
But the success story of our rice industry did not come about by some miracle; rather it came about through heavy emphasis and investments on drainage and irrigation, intensified research and development of new varieties, continuous education and training of farmers and duty free concessions of agricultural machinery and fuel and not least the hard work and sacrifices of our farmers
CEO of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Mr. Jagnarine Singh said this steady increase in rice production can be attributed to the administration’s continued investment in programmes and initiatives to support the rice farmers through agencies such as the GRDB.
Over the past five years the GRDB restructured its research efforts to better able to serve the farmers and other stakeholders and organised research programmes have been conceived, all aimed at steadily changing not only the environment in which rice is grown, but the success of the crop.
What is remarkable is the dramatic turnaround of the rice industry, which, in the early 1990s, was virtually on its knees and there was the threat that it might have even folded up as result of a long period of neglect, zero or inadequate investment in the sector and misguided policies and programmes.
In fact, there was a period when the number of rice growing families declined dramatically from 45,000 to 23,000.
When the PPP/C government assumed office in 1992, it immediately embarked on a visionary programme and committed effort to turn around the industry. Today, those efforts have borne fruit and once again we have a buoyant rice industry.
Historically, PPP-led governments have always placed tremendous emphasis on agriculture and this can be substantiated by its massive success in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Between 1957 and 1964, rice production increased by an incredible 74% and production of other crops and milk was so high that one opposition party put into its election manifesto: “Free cassava and milk; not a soul shall go to bed hungry.”
This huge success of the agriculture sector was a result visionary policies and programmes, duty free concessions on fuel for rice farmers, massive drainage and irrigation improvement and opening up of new lands and agriculture schemes.
The development of Black Bush Polder, the brainchild of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, was a major factor in significant increase in agriculture production, along with the MMA and Tapacuma schemes. What is amazing about Black Bush Polder, was that lands were transformed from swamps and a haven for rattlesnakes to a prime agricultural scheme, which perhaps still remain the largest of its kind in Guyana.
Unfortunately, when the PPP government was removed in 1964 and the new government took over the reins of government their election slogan of “Free cassava and milk; not a soul shall go to bed hungry” never materialised and in fact, all the progress made in the agriculture sector were reversed.
We even reached a point where chicken, eggs, etc. had to be imported and for short periods even rice and sugar were also imported.
Today, Guyana, because of sound agricultural policies and renewed commitment by the government and all stakeholders, the agriculture sector has been returned to a solid footing.