MINISTER within the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Alli Baksh has assured hundreds of rice farmers on Essequibo Coast that the government wants them to go back to their fields.
Consequently, it is committed to offer them assistance to ensure cultivation continues, he told those gathered at the Kayman Sankar shed, Hampton Court, on Sunday.
Baksh said the government, through the various stakeholders, is willing to help farmers since the Agriculture Ministry has recognised the destruction caused in the fields by paddy bug infestation.
He told the gathering that rice cultivation is the main economic activity in Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) and is dominated by farmers.
The minister said the industry must be sustained because farmers depend on it for their livelihood and officers from his ministry, the Rice Producers Association (RPA) and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) have been dispatched to various areas along the coast to assess the situation.
Baksh said farmers will be given technical assistance and advice, pointing out that the rice industry is much better than previous years.
Whatever form
RPA General Secretary, Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj gave farmers the assurance that support will be given in whatever form needed to make sure they go back to their cultivations.
He said assistance will be given to farmers who were severely affected by the bug infestation and forms will be available at the GRDB office for those whose paddy received C, D and E grades.
Seeraj said the documents will be specifically designed to assess farmers’ losses and, based on findings, aid will be given.
The RPA General Secretary said discussions will also be held with millers so that individual farmers can be offered help.
He said this crop is the largest and some 20,000 more acres were cultivated while the average yield has gone up by some five bags per acre.
Seeraj pointed out that export percentage will be less because of the paddy bug infestation which has reduced the quality of and is causing a steep drop in prices.
GRDB General Manager, Mr. Jagnarine Singh said 700,000 of the 1.2 million bags harvested on the coast falls into the substandard category because of the bug infestation.
He said it was not a situation where millers were not willing to pay farmers better prices for their paddy but the quality was affected because of the bugs.
Meetings were also held at Anna Regina RPA bond and at Golden Fleece drying floor, where farmers who attended raised several issues concerning the type of insecticides used to spray bug infested fields, as those they used did not help to combat the bugs.
