Paddy output up for first crop – Ministry

-resilient farmers hailed

Paddy production for the first crop this year is up by 26% over last year although exports are down over the same period.

According to a release on Wednesday from the Ministry of Agriculture, end-of-crop figures provided by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) showed that farmers reaped a total of 89,290 hectares or 23% over the first crop 2016 resulting in a paddy production of 518,667 metric tonnes of paddy – 26 percent more than for the same period last year.

The release said that General Manager (ag) of the GRDB, Allison Peters was upbeat about the performance of the industry.

“So you see the first crop figures have been better despite all that have occurred in the industry. Farmers are resilient... additionally, from paddy supplied to millers across the rice-growing regions, a total of 337, 133 metric tonnes of rice was produced. This is a 26 percent increase over last year’s first crop figures,” Peters said.

While there was a rise in production, the GRDB registered a decrease in exports of rice and paddy for the first four months of the year. The release said that this was as a result of exports to the Panama market for the 1st crop not being realised.

The release said that for the first crop of 2017, exports totalled 239,442 metric tonnes, some 60,000 tonnes less that for the same period last year. Foreign exchange earnings from the export of rice and paddy amounted to US$ 92m. No figure was given for the corresponding period last year.

Peters said that while the exports were significantly lower than for the corresponding period last year the comparative value of the exports was not much different.

She said that a lot of packaged rice was exported for the first quarter and a large portion of this went to Venezuela.

“Only last month we had over 4,000 tonnes of white rice exported to Venezuela by private exporters”, she added.

The GRDB said that exports to Panama began earlier this month and are expected to continue for the rest of the year.

Commenting on the production effort of Guyana’s rice farmers for this first crop, the General Manager was loud in her praise of the improvements reported in relation to yield and the quality of paddy supplied to millers.

“Our extension officers have been in the field working with our farmers, ensuring that as far as possible they continue to incorporate the six agronomic practices that have been proven to increase all aspects of production and productivity” she said.

Peters said that because of these improved farming practices some farmers have been reporting yields of up to 60 bags per acre. She said that overall, Guyana’s national yield per acre has moved from 35 bags to 37.5 this last crop.

Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder in an invited comment spoke of some of the successes the Ministry continues to record due to the incorporation of the six-point system in rice cultivation, noting that it has resulted in a movement in the national average yield per acre from 35 to 37.5 bags per acre.

“The survival of our rice farmers and the industry as a whole hinges on farmers realising higher yields per acre as only in this way will they be able to cushion the increasing cost of production and remain viable”, he stated.

Holder said that while there have been reports of farmers suffering as a result of paddy bug infestation, farmers and millers have indicated a significant drop when compared to other crops.

He lauded the efforts of Guyana’s rice farmers and added that because of their hard labour they earned approximately $17b from the sale of paddy to millers.