Rice harvest underway
― an estimate of 36% of rice harvested as of March 28, 2019
― more rice lands cultivated this production cycle
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, April 3, 2019
The 2019 first quarter production target (520,000 tonnes of paddy) set by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is steadily coming along as farmers in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have commenced harvesting and have collectively produced a total of 200,008 tonnes of paddy as of March 28, 2019.
Nizam Hassan, GRDB’s General Manager, indicated that nine per cent more farmland was cultivated during this production cycle. “We were able to cultivate 88,147 hectares of farmland, which is 7,112 hectares more than the last or autumn crop of 2018.”
This increase in farmland, paired with the fact that the harvesting process is estimated to be about 36 per cent completed, have given the GRDB hope that it will reach its quarterly production target upon completion of the harvesting period.
With a total of 276,100 bags of paddy harvested so far, farmers in Baiboo/Cane Grove and Golden Grove/Mahaica, Region 4 have completed 69 per cent of their harvesting for this crop – an equivalent to 17,538 metric tonnes of paddy.
Also, harvesting figures show that farmers in Region 2, Pomeroon-Supenaam have completed 61 per cent of harvesting, with those in La Bel Alliance-W/Castle harvesting 196,125 bags of paddy and those in Queenstown-Reliance harvesting 151,330 bags of paddy thus far. Overall, a total of 47,049 metric tonnes of paddy have been harvested in this region.
Moreover, Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, has encouraged the rice farmers to continue their compliance with the advice given by the Extension Officers to ensure that maximum productivity is achieved.
Furthermore, the rice farmers of the various regions were all congratulated for their efforts no only by the GRDB’s General Manager, but also by the Minister of Agriculture.
The government, along with the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRBD), has been working with rice farmers across the country and remain committed to sustaining the Rice Industry.
Onika Bobb.
Image: Department of Public Information.