Chairman of the Agriculture Committee of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and veteran local rice farmer Beni Sankar has told Stabroek Business that a good rice yield is still possible despite the protracted period of dry weather resulting from the current El Nino weather phenomenon.

Sankar told Stabroek Business that farms where the current spring crop is currently under cultivation remain under water, albeit at reduced volume. Sankar said that the lesser volume of water places the fields in closer to ideal conditions, increasing the possibility of higher than normal yield per acre.

Sankar, who has more than fifty years experience in rice cultivation explained that in conditions of normal seasonal rain some farmers are inclined towards excessive flooding of fields resulting in  the efficient growth and development of the rice stalk. Sankar said that while irrigation practices  have allowed for water levels of up to a foot in rice fields, all that is needed for the proper growth of paddy is one inch of water.

“With the right amount of water the plants get to spread, there is better photosynthesis, the fertilizer does not get washed away but remains in the field to nourish the plant,” he said. “Once you are not using too much water and flooding the plant, and the plant is getting a chance to grow it would be healthier and stronger,” Sankar said.

Sankar told Stabroek Business that his own rice lands on the Essequibo Coast  have not benefited from the El Nino conditions. He explain-ed that in the case of his own rice lands the challenge associated with irrigating the field to the   optimum one inch level is related to the layout of the land. While some areas secure the requir-ed volume of water, rice plants in other higher areas receive no water and are “parched out.” He  said that small farmers who can  identify the high areas in their plots and level them off are likely to find crop management easier in the current El Nino conditions. Larger farmers, on the other hand, are likely to experience greater losses, Sankar said. He said that the only solution to the problem lies in the application of laser-guided levelling machines.

Reflecting on the debilitating conditions resulting from the current El Nino phenomenon, Sankar told Stabroek Business: “All that is bad is not bad. Those who survive could be better off.”

Sankar said that as a large scale farmer he expects more loss per acre. He anticipates his yield for this current spring crop at around 32 bags of paddy per acre. Sankar said that small farmers who are able to irrigate their lands more effectively in the current conditions can perhaps anticipate yield at around 40 bags per acre.

The current crop of paddy, for which reaping has begun, was sown in November and December last year, around the same time that Guyana begun to feel the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon.