INDICATIONS are that the rice industry is slowing down as a result of both internal and external factors and mismanagement. Rice farmers are faced with a further price drop from $ 4,000 to $ 1,000 for a bag of paddy, thus causing  a picketing exercise in front of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB)Anna Regina branch and the Regional Administration in Region 2 on Wednesday April 17, 2013.

The question is what the government intends to do in dealing on a long- term basis with the price problematic and the security question of the farmers?
The government and the Guyana Rice Development Board need to address a wide range of issues  such as marketing;a sustainable production system; post-harvest management; product development;added value;  and the future of the rice industry. This will indeed be a boost for the rice industry. During 2001, the Government of Guyana and Brazil conducted bilateral trade negotiations with a view to enhancing trade between the two neighbouring countries.
These negotiations were completed as mandated by MERCOSUR of which Brazil is a member .As part of the negotiations, a list of products to be traded had to be presented by each country. On Guyana’s list rice and paddy was one such product; to date, Guyana has never capitalised on that market. The outlook for this crop’s paddy price is quite uncertain at the moment and  a further decline in price has been tentatively forecasted.
The final outcome will largely depend on the timely intervention of government to rescue the farmers from the banks; it is too early to make a definitive assessment of the situation. However, at present, farmers were not recovering their total costs .It appears that rough times are ahead.