Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha says rehabilitation works on most of the dams in the rice-producing areas have been completed, while harvesting for the first rice crop of 2021 is almost complete.
Minister Mustapha made this disclosure while giving an update on Spring crop harvesting activities across the country. He said proper infrastructure remains both a critical and an integral part of rice production in Guyana.
“For farmers to have access to transport their paddy from the fields to the mills, they need proper infrastructure in place. This is why the NDIA was tasked with implementing a massive and comprehensive dam rehabilitation exercise ahead of the reaping period. To date, the NDIA, along with other regional bodies, was able to rehabilitate 95% of the 186, 49, and 56 dams in Regions Two, Five, and Six respectively,” Minister Mustapha said.
As it relates to other regions, Minister Mustapha said due to the inclement weather, works had to be put on hold, thus affecting rehabilitation works on dams in Regions Three and Four.
“Rehabilitation works had commenced on several dams in Regions Three and Four but due to the high intensity of rainfall, works on these structures were not completed. In Region Three, we were able to complete 85 percent of the dams while in Region Four, we were able to rehabilitate 80 percent of the dams. We will continue to work with farmers to have these works done, but as it stands, we have to wait for the rains to subside. We will continue to monitor the conditions of these dams and work with farmers to ensure harvesting is completed. At the same time, I want to urge farmers to be mindful of how they use these dams to transport their paddy,” he said.
So far, Government, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), the Water Users’ Association, and other regional bodies have completed works to the value of over $166 million.
For the first crop of 2021, rice production is expected to surpass last year’s figures for the same period. So far, over 87,000 hectares of paddy have been harvested, producing over eight million bags of paddy with an average yield of 5.92 tonnes per hectare.
Harvesting for the first crop is almost completed, with farmers in Region Two accounting for 99.4 percent of their fields.
Meanwhile, for April, a total of 79,670 metric tonnes of rice valued at US $33,569,554 has been exported. This represents an increase of 6 percent in weight and 12 percent in value when compared to April 2020. (Extracted and modified from the Department of Public Information)
