RICE farmer Chate Narine of Paradise Village on the Essequibo Coast is confident that the rice industry will continue to bloom and grow bigger and bigger once the PPP/C continues in office.Mr. Narine said under the PPP/C Government the industry has developed and he sees a bright future for rice once the PPP/C is elected to office again on May11.The farmer said that production has grown to some 5,000 tons on the Essequibo Coast and has praised the Government and the Guyana Rice Development Board [GRDB] for educating him and other farmers on the six- point practice system through the farmers field school. He said the six-point system has proven very successful for him and he is currently enjoying yields of between 35 to 38 bags per acre in areas which had never given such yields. He said the yield per acre in other fertile areas is between 48 to 50 bags.

PRICES
Mr. Narine said the prices offered this crop are a bit low and called for Government to play a bigger role where prices and payments to farmers are concerned. He said the millers should have money to pay farmers promptly for their produce and added that he is disappointed with the current prices offered.
The farmer said over the past 22 years, the PPP/C Government has transformed the rice industry in the country. He said on the Essequibo Coast the amount of acreage under cultivation has increased to more than 38,000 and will continue to increase once the PPP/C continues in government.
TRANSFORMATION
On October 5, 1992, when the PPP/C took over the Government after winning the National and Regional Elections, the rice industry in the country was on its knees. Production was some 90 tonnes and farmers had abandoned their fields on the Essequibo Coast. The drainage and irrigation system under the PNC government was terrible, drainage and irrigation canals were blocked and silted up with weeds and bushes. Access dams were in bad condition while culverts, box kokers and timber bridges were in poor condition through lack of maintenance.

The PPP/C Government over the past 22 years has spent large sums to have a very efficient and reliable drainage and irrigation network across the rice- growing areas on the Essequibo Coast. In every area, new concrete and steel reinforced culverts, revetments and bridges were constructed to give farmers facilities to cultivate their fields with rice. Access dams were also upgraded with sand and loam, so farmers could transport their produce quickly to factories after harvesting.
A farmer of Sparta, Mr. Jagmohan, said the PPP/C government has done well, and that he too sees a bright future for the industry under the PPP/C.
The farmer, who is 73 years old, said the rice industry could only reach its true potential under the PPP/C, and that he has already endorsed the party to win at the May 11 elections. (Rajendra Prabhulall)