The rice sector achieved its highest annual production level in five years and the focus this year will be on sustaining cultivation levels, improving seed quality and availability, introducing new and resilient varieties and improving efficiency in the paddy trade.
In his Budget presentation to the National Assembly yesterday, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh said the rice sector recorded a strong performance last year though it is projected to suffer a 7.1% decline this year to 306,156 tonnes, as a result of poor weather conditions and delayed planting.

Singh said that the domestic rice industry responded to favourable price conditions with expanded acreage and upgraded equipment capacity. “These developments enabled the industry to overcome the challenges of adverse weather and untimely payment by some large millers to farmers, and increase output by 10.5% to 329,574 tonnes, the highest annual production in five years,” he said. To sustain this, he said, a new seed facility aimed at decentralizing seed production from Burma and facilitating easier access to improved seed stock by farmers is expected to be constructed at Number 56 village. Over $40 million will be invested at the Burma complex to procure laboratory and specialized equipment in order to improve the diagnostic capabilities of the industry while a training programme for over 1,500 farmers will be conducted countrywide and two new and improved varieties of rice will be launched, he stated.

Additionally, the Finance Minister said, government will be examining ways in which greater fairness and efficiency can be achieved in the trading of paddy to minimize the difficulties which arise from late payment by millers to farmers.