RICE harvesting is ongoing in all the Regions despite intermittent rainfall in different areas and, so far, the yield and quality produced has been good.

This is what General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj reported during a telephone interview yesterday.
He said, while there have been some showers, the conditions overall have improved and it is hoped that, during the second crop harvest, good weather would prevail to allow farmers to complete this exercise.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy told the Guyana Chronicle, recently, early indications are that the local industry will surpass the 500,000 tonnes production mark.
The first crop, this year, produced exceedingly well, with a production of 263,000 tonnes, significantly more than the target of 206,000 tonnes.
According to Ramsammy, the current crop is also on track to be a very successful one.
The annual target is 412,000 tonnes, which, he said, will be easily surpassed.
However, he said this crop is not one without challenges, pointing out that, while August is usually one of the driest months of the year, this past one was among the wettest, with some 20 days of rain.
The minister stated, further, that this is the period when rice requires dry weather not only for the crop itself but for dams to be accessible for harvesting.
“2013 was a successful year but not an easy one. The first crop, they had to deal with drought; the second crop they had to deal with persistent rain, which was good for them at one time. But enough is enough, they need it now to be dry,” he asserted.

Major challenge
Another major challenge that the rice industry has had to deal with this year is a high population of paddy bugs which had caused some damage in the first crop.
There was a resurgence of the pests in the second crop but, due to Government programmes and interventions by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and the RPA, the situation is now under control.
Ramsammy observed that the paddy bug situation had the potential of becoming worse, but a number of actions were taken, such as public awareness demonstrations, assistance with pesticides and increased surveillance, among others.
“Now that we have gone late into the crop and some harvesting is already taking place, the early indication is that the initiatives taken by the farmers and by RPA and GRDB have paid off and these early indications show little impact of the paddy bug,” he noted.
While the minister said it is too early to pronounce whether the problem has been completely overcome, he emphasised that the present signs are encouraging.
Ramsammy indicated, too, that rice exports have been proceeding smoothly to all destinations, including the Caribbean, Europe and Guyana’s largest importer, Venezuela.
He said that Guyana’s rice is still in demand and underscored that the Venezuelan market is critical because of its volume. Still, he advised that Guyana has completed its commitments to that country for the first crop.
The minister reminded that the contract stipulates that Guyana exports 55,000 tonnes of white rice and approximately 44,000 tonnes of paddy to Venezuela in the first crop and those amounts have been surpassed.
He said, though, that exporting rice to Venezuela is a continuous exercise and, as the second crop unfolds, exports will continue so that, by the end of October or early November, Guyana’s commitments to Venezuela for 2013 should be completed.

2014 agreement
Upon completion of the 2013 agreement, Ramsammy said talks for a 2014 agreement will begin.
He acknowledged that one of the challenges experienced in the first crop was the availability of space for the storage and processing of rice, due to increased production.
Ramsammy said, whilst Guyana has good capacity to produce and mill, this is also dependent on the shipping out of the product which creates space.
He disclosed that Mahaicony Rice Mills (MRL) factory at Mahaicony has been put back in operation and, since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given it permission to operate, it has applied to the GRDB for a licence and it is being processed.
Ramsammy said, with that facility operating again, storage and milling capacity is better for the current crop than it was in the first crop.
Meantime, Deputy General Manager of GRDB, Mr. Ricky Ramraj revealed that, up to now, approximately four percent of the crop has been harvested from 3,300 hectares of the 83,800 cultivated.
He said the average yield per hectare is 5.2 tonnes which, he described as “excellent.”