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HARVESTING of the present rice crop has commenced in Regions 2 3, and 6. Essequibo farmers are making full use of the sunny weather. It is still too early to make a definitive forecast of the 2013 production as the yield is varied.
This crop paddy prices has decreased from $4,000 to $3,900 for A Grade, $3,900 to $3,800 for B Grade, $3,800 to $ 3,700 for C Grade, and below the farmers have to negotiate prices with the millers. The price is expected to decline further as the crop comes to an end.
This trend, which is non-uniformed over the past years, has had more serious consequences for rice farmers. The analysis of the production costs indicated that many farmers were at least breaking even with their production costs at the going paddy prices of the highest grade at $3,900 per bag. The price for paddy continues to be unstable and any increase may not occur in the near future.
The consequences of these declining paddy prices are already being felt and many farmers are expected to reduce their acreage, the implications for the government can be quite serious, this would result in the loss of export earnings of US Dollars. Every effort should be made in order to achieve this; some assistance will have to be given to farmers.
However, small farmers were not recovering their total costs; their profit margins were also about nil. The estimated costs for both large and small farmers for ploughing, back blade, insecticides, fertilizers and 160 pounds per bag of paddy was found to be similar. Funding for the procurement of insecticides by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) through the Ministry of Agriculture to assist farmers was a pittance and couldn’t spray one acre of rice.
Because of the unusual nature of the weather pattern at this time, farmers were forced to upgrade and develop all the feeder roads to give access to farm and facilitate the bringing out of paddy to the mills. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Drainage and Irrigation Department of Region 2, should provide farmers with better access roads for the next crop. The present crop of rice has been seriously affected by bad roads.
Much of the agricultural machinery seen idle in the Drainage and Irrigation compound is either not being used at all because of inadequate maintenance or failure to correct some minor fault with spare parts. The systems malfunction or operate inefficiently.
This crop paddy prices has decreased from $4,000 to $3,900 for A Grade, $3,900 to $3,800 for B Grade, $3,800 to $ 3,700 for C Grade, and below the farmers have to negotiate prices with the millers. The price is expected to decline further as the crop comes to an end.
This trend, which is non-uniformed over the past years, has had more serious consequences for rice farmers. The analysis of the production costs indicated that many farmers were at least breaking even with their production costs at the going paddy prices of the highest grade at $3,900 per bag. The price for paddy continues to be unstable and any increase may not occur in the near future.
The consequences of these declining paddy prices are already being felt and many farmers are expected to reduce their acreage, the implications for the government can be quite serious, this would result in the loss of export earnings of US Dollars. Every effort should be made in order to achieve this; some assistance will have to be given to farmers.
However, small farmers were not recovering their total costs; their profit margins were also about nil. The estimated costs for both large and small farmers for ploughing, back blade, insecticides, fertilizers and 160 pounds per bag of paddy was found to be similar. Funding for the procurement of insecticides by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) through the Ministry of Agriculture to assist farmers was a pittance and couldn’t spray one acre of rice.
Because of the unusual nature of the weather pattern at this time, farmers were forced to upgrade and develop all the feeder roads to give access to farm and facilitate the bringing out of paddy to the mills. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Drainage and Irrigation Department of Region 2, should provide farmers with better access roads for the next crop. The present crop of rice has been seriously affected by bad roads.
Much of the agricultural machinery seen idle in the Drainage and Irrigation compound is either not being used at all because of inadequate maintenance or failure to correct some minor fault with spare parts. The systems malfunction or operate inefficiently.
