WITH the collapse of the Venezuelan market less than two years ago, the fortunes of rice farmers have dwindled, and from all indications, the industry will take some time to recover.

It should be noted that even before the premium Venezuelan market fell through, all was not well in the industry, as it was subsidised by the then Government, which enabled farmers to make a profit.

Perhaps, the support was strategic since rice farmers aside from their significant work in ensuring food security and bringing in foreign exchange through the rice trade, are also traditional supporters of the former administration.

With a change in administration, the concessions they once enjoyed soon dried up, with Government pointing out that rice is essentially private business. Many rice farmers have since been complaining that they are feeling the squeeze but the point at some time would have to be made, and that is, firstly, the Venezuelan market was not a pact for eternity and at some time, it would come to an end and they would have to face the concomitant reality.

And secondly, on the international market arena, Guyana is but a small producer, and as such, it is not a price-maker but a price-taker for its rice. The issue here is not really about finding buyers for locally produced rice, but finding buyers who are willing to pay a price that is satisfactory to farmers. And from the look of things, unless Guyana can locate another friendly buyer, it will only be able to earn premium prices for her rice if one of the big rice producing nations is beset by natural disaster or some other tragedy that grinds its production to a halt.

Rice is also not a climate-resilient crop and the local industry has had its fair share of challenges with the weather and other issues. While the local industry has not suffered any real major disaster in recent times, at times it has been at the mercy of poor weather, coupled with a host of problems, including millers not paying farmers on time.

These challenges point to the need for farmers to re-examine their level of involvement in rice and explore other crops and areas of agriculture to sustain their livelihoods. It is not a suggestion either for rice farmers to stop planting, but simply an indication that it would be wise for them at this time to scale back operations to avoid a loss and look at cattle, livestock and agro-processing to make a profit. Against this background, the recent Essequibo Agro Festival and Trade Expo, which sought to showcase the vast agriculture potential and other areas of interest on the region could not have been a timelier event, but one can only hope that it is sustained. And perhaps expanded to include companies in the Caribbean region and further afield.

The message of diversification has been catching on with farmers on the Essequibo Coast. Some farmers there have already begun to turn to cattle, coconut and agro-processing. Many more would get involved with Government providing some financial support and technical assistance. After all, the opportunities are there for them for the taking and some of these opportunities are currently more profitable than rice, notably coconut.

With a production of 7000 nuts per acre annually, at $50 per nut, a coconut farmer easily earns $350,000 a year, more than double the amount of money a rice farmer earns annually for one acre of rice cultivated. And some of the best coconuts are found in the Pomeroon, where alone, there are about some 20,000 acres of land that can be cultivated. These areas, if cultivated, will produce an estimated yield of 140 million nuts per year, and at $50 per nut, it is a $7B enterprise waiting to be tapped. The value-added products of coconut, which includes coconut oil, craft, and coconut water, is also estimated to worth around $7B in the Pomeroon alone. The dairy industry on the Essequibo Coast is also estimated to worth some $18B but, this too is untapped.

This is more than enough to inform rice farmers that going forward, they cannot solely depend on rice to secure their livelihoods but should look at cattle, livestock, other crops and agro-processing to return them to some level of sound financial footing.