Ministry distributes 100 tonnes of rice seeds to farmers

IN light of the notable decline in domestic rice paddy production from 2014 to 2023, the Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Ministry has distributed 100 tonnes of rice seeds to 37 farmers across Trinidad and Tobago for the 2025 planting season.

The distributed seeds, sourced from the Corporate Republic of Guyana (Republic Bank Guyana), come as part of a $2 million allocation by the ministry to revitalise local food production. The seeds are expected to support the commercial planting of approximately 2,000 acres of land.

“In 2014, TT produced approximately 2,800 metric tonnes of rice paddy,” said Agriculture Minister Ravi Ratiram at the distribution ceremony at the Central Experiment Station, Centeno on May 20.

“That figure fell to 600 metric tonnes in 2018 and the decline has been sharp and sustained. In 2023, according to the Finance Ministry’s Review of the Economy, production fell to 445 metric tonnes.

“And the consequences are real. Greater dependence on inputs, decreased exposure to local supply shops and vulnerabilities to fluctuating prices. At present TT imports over 90 per cent of its rice, mostly from Guyana and the US spending millions annually.”

Raritam said the import situation was not only economically inefficient but strategically risky in the light of climate change, fluctuating shipping costs and regional production pressures.

“We must reach a point where local rice is not just the exception on the shelf but the standard on the shelf.”

The ministry seeks to do just that using the $2 million allocation to invest in access roads, drainage, irrigation, on-site technical support and addressing land tenure and land security issues farmers face.

Ratiram said the ministry was currently assessing what needs to be done to enhance farming infrastructure, which he said was neglected by the previous administration.

“This is a whole-of-government and whole-of-sector effort.

“To our farmers, the most valued and important stakeholders in this conversation, you are the centre of this transformation. We are here, not just to support you with inputs but to engage you as strategic partners. You know the land, you know the labour, you know the risks and you also know what is possible when the right conditions are in place.”

Ratiram thanked Guyana’s Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha and the Guyana consulate for supporting the initiative.