FARMERS on the Essequibo Coast have sown more than 6,000 acres with rice for the autumn crop.According to reports from the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) office at Anna Regina, most of the sowing is taking place in the front lands along the Essequibo Coast.
Reports said the amount of acreage that is expected to be put under cultivation will surpass 38,000. Over the past days, farmers in the highland areas have utilised the rainy weather to back-blade and level their fields for sowing.
The regional administration has also released water from its conservancies and main canal to irrigate fields in the low and highland areas.
Meanwhile, farmers in the Cozier area are still preparing their fields for sowing. More than 6,000 acres are cultivated for each crop at Cozier, even though these lands were originally designed for cash-crop farming due to the richness of the soil.
The yield at the end of the last crop was more than 1.5 million bags of paddy. (Prabhulall)