IN 2001, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) with the Guyana Rice Producer’s Association (RPA) in collaboration with the Guyana Government and Caribbean Rice Industry Network (CridNet), facilitated a farmers, millers and extension officers exchange visit of Guyana to Suriname.
We spent five days visiting target areas such as Niew Nickerie, Aporea ,Leydorp, Brokopondo, Moengo and Paramaribo. We expressed our appreciation of the crop husbandry practices by Suriname and were very impressed with their drainage system. In visiting the fields we learnt of plant breeding, including also lines and crosses with Basmati type scentedness coupled with blast resistance.
In the product development, preliminary studies were on growing Oyster mushroom on rice straw and rice bran. Rice-fish feasibility was on show.
Scented lines/hybrids/crosses were selected and planted at the blast hotspot location. In the area of Entomology, we learnt that plant hoppers which could potentially spread hoja blanca virus or raggy stunt virus were observed.
The symptoms include twisting and curling of young leaves. In addition to visiting the rice fields, the group visited the banana plantation and had a first-hand look from field to factory operations, how to improve and maintain levels of production to satisfy local and export  nutritional needs, to provide the basis for expansion of manufacturing activities.
The processing of fish and shrimp drying; salting, smoking for local use and for export; the manufacture of glue, fish-oil and ornaments;and the manufacture of fish meal In the Javanese community, farmers, including women, were being trained in a number of different disciplines in a more scientific manner. Some areas of training include cash crops production and sheep and poultry production. They were also given training in basic literacy skills and craft skills such as sewing, knitting, cake decoration and food preservation.
Before the group left for Guyana we met with the Honourable Minister of Agriculture of Suriname and I expressed our appreciation to the Suriname government for hosting us.