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THE local rice industry is now facing new challenges due to the significant increase of land under rice cultivation and improved yields, according to Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy. In an interview yesterday, the minister related that approximately 50 percent of the more than 81,000 hectares of land under cultivation for the first crop of this year have been reaped.
He advised that from the land that has been reaped, more than 5.1 million bags of rice have been accumulated. He further related that at present the equivalent of more than 110,000 tonnes of rice have been reaped.
The minister stated that by the end of this first crop, it is expected that a production of more than 250,000 tonnes would be achieved, stressing that this would far exceed the target of 206,000 tonnes.
However, he said that this increased production is posing new challenges to the industry.
He explained that famers are having a problem because they are achieving yields that are beyond their expectations, and hence there’s the problem of finding enough trucks to transport their paddy to the mills.
He said further that once they do find trucks to go to the mills, drivers complain of having to wait in long lines to unload.
In addition, the minister noted that the mills do not have enough storage space for the paddy and the rice being produced.
“These are challenges that we’ve never had before and the great production has now created these and we will have to begin to address them,” he said.
He disclosed that he has instructed the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to negotiate with the Tourism Ministry, which manages the Sophia Exhibition Centre, to allow the centre to be used temporarily to store paddy.
Moreover, Dr. Ramsammy related that they are trying to ship some of the rice out of the country early. So far for the year, approximately 40,000 tonnes of rice have been exported, with earnings in excess of US $25M.
Meantime, he noted that SeaRice Guyana has acquired two mills that belonged to Mahaicony Rice Mills Limited (MRL) at Essequibo and Black Bush Polder.
The minister said that MRL has two other mills, at Mahaicony and Blairmont, which were not a part of the SeaRice deal. And both of these are modern mills that could help out in the present situation.
However, he stated that there are still some farmers who are disputing the owners of MRL relating to payments. He advised that the ministry is currently conducting an audit of MRL and that the owners are cooperating.
Dr. Ramsammy disclosed that he has called upon MRL, GRDB and the Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA) to put together rigid control mechanisms and that he is ready to issue a license for MRL to operate the two mills for this crop.
He also emphasised that all payment mechanisms will be controlled by the GRDB and GRPA.
“We will supervise the purchasing of the paddy and the payments to the farmers. If MRL agrees to that arrangement, we will give them the licence to operate the mills for this crop and that should ease the problems of not being able to handle the amount of rice,” he said.
The minister stressed, though, that the audit has not been completed as yet, and so he is not in a position to give MRL a licence to operate for the whole year.
He advised that from the land that has been reaped, more than 5.1 million bags of rice have been accumulated. He further related that at present the equivalent of more than 110,000 tonnes of rice have been reaped.
The minister stated that by the end of this first crop, it is expected that a production of more than 250,000 tonnes would be achieved, stressing that this would far exceed the target of 206,000 tonnes.
However, he said that this increased production is posing new challenges to the industry.
He explained that famers are having a problem because they are achieving yields that are beyond their expectations, and hence there’s the problem of finding enough trucks to transport their paddy to the mills.
He said further that once they do find trucks to go to the mills, drivers complain of having to wait in long lines to unload.
In addition, the minister noted that the mills do not have enough storage space for the paddy and the rice being produced.
“These are challenges that we’ve never had before and the great production has now created these and we will have to begin to address them,” he said.
He disclosed that he has instructed the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to negotiate with the Tourism Ministry, which manages the Sophia Exhibition Centre, to allow the centre to be used temporarily to store paddy.
Moreover, Dr. Ramsammy related that they are trying to ship some of the rice out of the country early. So far for the year, approximately 40,000 tonnes of rice have been exported, with earnings in excess of US $25M.
Meantime, he noted that SeaRice Guyana has acquired two mills that belonged to Mahaicony Rice Mills Limited (MRL) at Essequibo and Black Bush Polder.
The minister said that MRL has two other mills, at Mahaicony and Blairmont, which were not a part of the SeaRice deal. And both of these are modern mills that could help out in the present situation.
However, he stated that there are still some farmers who are disputing the owners of MRL relating to payments. He advised that the ministry is currently conducting an audit of MRL and that the owners are cooperating.
Dr. Ramsammy disclosed that he has called upon MRL, GRDB and the Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA) to put together rigid control mechanisms and that he is ready to issue a license for MRL to operate the two mills for this crop.
He also emphasised that all payment mechanisms will be controlled by the GRDB and GRPA.
“We will supervise the purchasing of the paddy and the payments to the farmers. If MRL agrees to that arrangement, we will give them the licence to operate the mills for this crop and that should ease the problems of not being able to handle the amount of rice,” he said.
The minister stressed, though, that the audit has not been completed as yet, and so he is not in a position to give MRL a licence to operate for the whole year.
