A field day and exchange visit which saw rice farmers from Regions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 interacting and sharing best practices, was held on Wednesday at Johanna Cecilia, Essequibo Coast.
It is hoped that the event, hosted by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and the Rice Producers Association (RPA) and the first for this season, will lead to increased yield in the rice sector.
In addition to interacting with each other and discussing planting methods, farmers were able to visit a rice field aback Johanna Cecilia where the GRDB and the RPA are experimenting with the ‘six-point practice’ on some 1.5 acres of land.
GRDB Extension Manager Kuldip Ragnauth told farmers that rice cultivation is on the move. “There are new varieties, new machinery and new technology,” he told them, adding that it was not just the variety of paddy that increased yield, “is how you grow your paddy”. He said some farmers have already started the six-point practice and have seen yields of 45 bags per acre and over.
He advised farmers on how to treat seeds with chemicals that can used and warned that whenever they bought chemicals farmers should look for the active ingredient.
Regional Representative and Member of Parliament Faruk Khan said that whoever came up with the idea for farmers to meet had a good idea.
He said rice was “a part of our legacy and it is here to stay”. He added that laws have been passed in Parliament to help farmers in connection with getting paid for their paddy.
He admonished farmers to work together so that the rice industry will survive. Khan said the drainage and irrigation workers were helping with the drainage and he would recommend that the region spend more money on the access roads.
GRDB Agronomist Gansham Pyam shed some light on crop rotation. He also advised farmers on Integrated Pest Management.
Also present at the event was Davwatti Dass Regional Supervisor, GRDB.
Farmers said they were happy for the opportunity to interact with each other, some of the farmers said the exercise was beneficial to them and they would put in into practice what the had learned.
However the meeting came to an abrupt end with some farmers stating how dissatisfied they were with the price of paddy. They argued that the much-touted Venezuela market was more beneficial to the millers than to the farmers. One farmer said, “every day gold, sugar and even the price for fish are going up but the price for rice is not.
