Dear Editor,
It was interesting to read that 484 acres of land will be put under rice cultivation at Wales Estate by GuySuCo. It boggles my mind to think what kind of economic planning and feasibility study were done to arrive at such a decision. From my experience as a rice farmer and an agriculture rice extension officer the infrastructure is different in the rice industry from the sugar industry. This means that GuySuCo will have to change the culture of cane cultivation arrangements to accommodate rice-growing by placing more kokers for irrigation, and this will incur more expenditure.
I think that it would be a wise decision to diversify some of these lands into livestock rearing, citrus, tilapia farms and vegetables since rice and sugar are on a slippery slope. Guyana has been certified free of foot and mouth disease for cattle; there is a shortage of beef and milk in this country since the pasteurized milk plant was closed down and we are importing it from other countries. The cultivation of rice is seasonal and it won’t employ many people to cushion the effect of the retrenched workers of Wales; we have to think big or more people are going to join the breadline.
Guyana has been expanding its rice production from 1990 to 2015, although there are now lower export levels since it lost the Venezuelan market. It does have access to Caricom markets. These growing uncertainties and falling farm prices should have alarmed GuySuCo and the Minister of Agriculture and caused them to reflect whether it was wise to go into rice.
Over the past years there has been a general decline in rice prices in Caricom and the international market. This trend will have more consequences for Guyana and GuySuCo, and it could face a serious threat to its earning position.
Other countries are offering more competitive prices for rice and paddy to capture a greater share of the international market. Presently, the Caribbean is competing with Thailand, India and other countries for the parboiled and white rice markets. It is becoming more difficult for Guyana to compete with these countries, and GuySuCo should take warning. I would advise that an analysis (technical and economic) be done before rice is cultivated at Wales Estate. It might be advisable for GuySuCo to give special consideration to the cultivation of fragrant specialty rice which is in demand right across the world.
GuySuCo cannot effectively compete in the world rice market at the rate the industry is going with the local varieties and low quality of rice and paddy being produced year round. I have found that many producers and millers were at best breaking even with their production cost at the going prices for paddy and rice. However, they were not recovering their total costs. The farmers and millers’ margins were almost nil. Overall, the industry appeared to be operating at a loss. I still maintain that GuySuCo should advance efforts towards the diversification and modernization of Wales Estate and reinvigorate the Grow More Food campaign.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
