Where are our rice fields?

THE EDITOR: The local rice industry has been dormant for years. It costs hundreds of millions annually to import rice for local consumption.

Last year, after the Agri Investment and Expo in Guyana, the government announced it would invest $20 million to revive the local rice industry. The plan, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, is to bring 5,000 acres of land into rice production. It would engage 6,000 farmers and meet 30 per cent of the local annual demand.

The dry season is the time for land preparation and laying down irrigation infrastructure. We have passed the halfway mark of the dry season.

What is the status of this project? Where are the rice fields being prepared?

Has Government scrapped the project? Or is it a project similar to the plywood factory which Dr Rowley promised for La Brea? The country needs an update.

Guyana is investing heavily in its agricultural sector. It will always be cheaper to import rice from Guyana rather than produce locally.

Years ago, a rice agronomist said that the profit local rice farmers were making was the subsidy paid by the government.

This government closed down Caroni Greens Ltd, a small state company in the pepper business, because it was not turning a profit. It was funded by an EU grant.

Why would Government now want to invest in a revenue-losing enterprise?

Isn’t there some kind of harmonising in food production efforts among Caricom member states? Guyana is producing adequate rice. Why can’t we produce blackeye, red beans, corn, soya or peppers?

Every new minister of agriculture has a new agricultural production plan for the country. Since former minister Vasant Bharath published his plan, scarcely anyone knows what the current plan is.

The rice-production plan is politically attractive, but at what cost? When the plan was announced after the Guyana expo, no timeline was given. It’s time the taxpayers know what’s happening.

GANESH BIDHESI

Chaguanas