Dear Editor,
It is reported that high salt content has already shown up in the irrigation canals across the rice growing regions of Guyana due to the long dry spell. The present crop of rice in Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary (MMA) has been seriously affected by salt, according to agriculture officers, which came from the irrigation water taken directly from rivers.
Any farmer who anticipates pumping water into their fields should have the water tested by an extension officer. Testing can be done on the spot using a small battery operated meter. If the meter reads 1000 and above the water should not be used. The rice plant is particularly susceptible to salt at the early growth stage (about 1 month old) and at the flowering and grain filling stage.
If the level of salt is high at the flowering and grain filling stage, yields will be lower, unfilled grains will be higher, and chalkiness will increase. All the lands that were known to be affected by salt in the MMA area should be flushed out with fresh water in the coming crop before sowing occurs. In the fields that are affected by salt, farmers should not use produce from their crops as seeds because they will experience low germination and poor seedling vigour. They should buy seeds from the Burma Rice Research Station or other farmers whose fields have not been affected by salt.
The areas mainly affected by salt are Leguan and Wakenaam at the moment and some parts of the Essequibo Coast. This will have serious implications for both cash crops and this coming rice crop. Every effort should be made by the ministry of agriculture and the drainage and irrigation board to monitor this situation closely. The government should ask donor countries and agencies such as the World Health Organisation, the World Food Programme, the World Bank, IDB and UNICEF in order to receive assistance to combat the effect of the El Nino weather-like phenomenon.
In my tenure as a rice extension officer, a visiting El Nino expert presented a report to former minister of agriculture Mr Reepu Daman Persaud in which he suggested ways to combat the crisis. The document contained recommendations and findings relating to water for agricultural and domestic purposes. He identified areas where help could be sought, such as funds to purchase items like pumps to provide relief to farmers who have no access to water to irrigate their rice fields.
The Guyana Government should move swiftly to provide farmers with assistance for the next crop. In 1998, the El Nino weather phenomenon took its toll on Guyana’s rice industry with some 45,000 acres which were prepared for the first crop of 1998 not being cultivable. Of the 144,000 acres which had been sown, between 10,000 – 15,000 acres were lost because of the lack of irrigation water, salt and the prolonged dry weather.
Weather forecasting has never been so crucial for Guyanese rice and cash crop farmers. Climate change means they can no longer rely on the signs that they used to in the past to help them decide when to sow or harvest.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
