LOCAL rice farmers are set to deliver a record 1,000,000 tonnes of paddy production for 2015, as already 83% of the first crop has been harvested, and the yields are record breaking, Minister of Agriculture Dr Leslie Ramsammy said.The minister was at the time addressing rice farmers, on Tuesday, at the newly commissioned Number 56 Village Seed Cleaning Facility.
According to Minister Ramsammy, in Region Two, farmers have yielded six tonnes of paddy per acre, while in Cane Grove, Region Four, farmers have yielded seven tonnes per acre. These figures, the minister said, were projected production for 2020.
Comparing these figures with what obtained in the 1980s and 1990s, Minister Ramsammy said farmers merely yielded two tonnes of paddy per acre then. “Much came from the efforts of our farmers and improved farming techniques through the field school…”
These achievements, he added, are also owing to the significant contributions made by research and the local researchers, who have been introducing new varieties.
“Between 1995 and 2015, we have introduced 14 new varieties of seed paddy, and that is an astonishing improvement in terms of research.”
The achievements, the minister added, are as a result of the generous investments made by the Government in building local capacity.
Further, Minister Ramsammy said the rice farmers must be lauded for their efforts; applying the new techniques, that have added to the rice industry’s growth.
“Today we can be proud because the rice industry, that has evolved from more than 100 years, today is one of the strongest industries in Guyana, and is one of the strongest rice industries in the Americas, and for that reason we all need to be proud as farmers and as Guyanese.”
Showing how much the industry has grown, Minister Ramsammy pointed out that in 1964, for the first time, farmers produced 200,000 tonnes of rice, and it was a land mark achievement, because at that time, few people had believed that Guyana could have reached that milestone.
Also, in the same year, Guyana reached an export value of over 100,000 tonnes.
“Between then and the early 1990s, Guyana surpassed 200,000 tonnes only once, and by 1990, our production was 90,000 tonnes and our export was just about 37,000 tonnes. Today, we have grown to where our production in 2015 can in fact surpass 700,000 tonnes of rice and for the first time reach a magical number 1,000,000 tonnes of paddy.”
All these, the minister said, are clear indications that Guyana’s rice industry and its many achievements have made it one of the best in the region. (GINA)