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Some 206,895 tonnes had been targeted for this crop, while 412,225 had been targeted overall for the year’s production.
Singh further informed that 330,000 tonnes of rice have to date been exported to Guyana’s main rice importer, Venezuela, and also to European and Caribbean countries, earning a total income of US$194,000,357.
He pointed out that the projections for exports were also surpassed, as 317,000 tonnes were targeted to be exported, to earn an income of US$164,666,000.
Singh also indicated that preparation for the first crop of 2013 is well underway, with approximately 65,000 hectares already sown.
During a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Minister Ramsammy had stated that, based on the amount of land under preparation, the next crop is expected to be even bigger.
“We, in fact, expect, from the data we accumulated, that the first crop for 2013, based on the land preparation going on now, will be perhaps the largest in the history of Guyana, in terms of how much land is under cultivation,” the minister had said.
He explained that in terms of acreage of land under preparation for rice, the 2013 first crop will perhaps be more than 200,000 acres.
He also said that if a similar amount of land is prepared for the second crop, there will be some 400,000 acres under cultivation, which he noted indicates the confidence the rice farmers have in the industry.
Dr. Ramsammy added that the industry is now attaining greater production, not only because more land is under cultivation, but also because more yield per hectare is now being achieved.
“What is also significant is that when you look at the yield per hectare during the 80s and early 90s, we barely made two tonnes per hectare, and now we are close to five tonnes per hectare. So that even if we didn’t add more land than we did in the 1980s, we would have had a greater production,” he asserted.
Moreover, the minister revealed that for the upcoming crop, more seed paddy from the higher yielding varieties of rice would be utilised. However, he emphasized that while the ministry had begun to introduce the higher yielding varieties, such as GRDB 9, 10, 11 and 12, there had not been enough to spread around.
He noted that approximately one bag of seed paddy is needed per acre, and presently the Government seed paddy facility can produce only some 30,000 to 40,000 bags.
“So if you have some 200,000 acres, it means you need approximately 200,000 bags of seed paddy… Most of it comes from the rice farmers themselves. Many rice farmers have their own ones, but whenever a rice farmer wants to switch from what they traditionally grow to the higher yielding one, they have to depend on us, and we don’t usually have enough,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Dr. Ramsammy assured that, in the coming year, more of the GRDB 10, 11 and 12 varieties will be produced than in previous years, which will therefore also add to the yield.
He further indicated that weather continues to be favourable to the rice industry, and that the current conditions are appropriate for the land preparation that is currently ongoing.
“The weather has been relatively good for rice, which is ironic, because the most complaints usually come from rice farmers, but the rice farmers have had a bountiful year. They have had a more successful year this year than any other year in our history,” he stated.
