THE cost of locally grown fruits, vegetables, and other crops, particularly rice, is expected to significantly be reduced throughout the year as the government is expecting “positive news” from major fertiliser producer, the Kingdom of Morocco.
During a visit to the Leonora Market on the West Coast of Demerara on Saturday, President Dr Irfaan Ali noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation is in constant contact with its counterparts in Morocco.
He believes that by the second quarter 2022, Guyana could receive some positive news about the reduced cost of fertilisers across the country.
“When you speak to the farmers directly, you will hear them saying to you how they are trying to maintain the price and not trying to increase the price, but they have difficulties, the price for fertiliser.
“Minster [Hugh] Todd is working on an initiative right now; we have been talking to Morocco for a while now to see if we could directly engage them on the issue of fertiliser, we are having some headway now [and] by July we should have some positive news,” President Ali told reporters.
According to agricultural data, all food crops require the element phosphorus to grow and Morocco possesses over 70 per cent of the world’s phosphate rock reserves from which the phosphorus used in fertilisers is derived. Unlike other finite resources such as fossil fuels, there is no alternative to phosphorus.
Morocco’s phosphorus fertiliser industry, with its massive production capacity and international reach, has transformed the Kingdom into a gatekeeper of global food supply chains.
At a recent engagement with rice farmers in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, had pointed out that global economic constraints linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, the Ukraine-Russia crisis have resulted in higher costs for farming inputs, especially fertilisers.
Fertilisers are an essential part of the planting process. Farmers in the region have complained that the cost of organic fertilisers has increased by more than 200 per cent; from $4,000 per bag of manure to now more than $10,000 per bag.
He noted that based on reports, while farming costs have impacted fruits and vegetables locally, rice seems to have taken a large hit with the price for rice also decreasing internationally while production costs continue to rise.
Consequently, the Agriculture Minister acknowledged rice farming has become more costly with lowered gains. He, however, noted that the government was not ignorant of these woes.
“We are working hard to bring down the cost of production,” Mustapha said.
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS
Even as the government continues to work to reduce the cost of production of crops locally, Minister Mustapha highlighted that the government has reduced the US$8 per tonne fee paid by millers to the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) for inspection and to certify the quality and quantity of rice supplied. Now, Mustapha said that a fee of US $6 per tonne is paid.
He also said that the government continues to invest in drainage and irrigation works and other massive infrastructure to help make farming much safer and more efficient.
Recognising that the cost of fertilisers is, however, a significant challenge for farmers, Mustapha also noted that his ministry will be engaging suppliers to determine how costs can be reduced.
By lowering the costs of production, however, Mustapha believes that farmers would be able to spend less growing rice and resultantly, generate greater profits when the rice is sold to the millers.
“We have to work together. This government would never want to see rice farmers suffer in this country, we will continue to give support,” the minister emphasised.