Two Fridays ago rice farmers from across the country visited fields at Bush Lot, West Berbice where farmers lauded the “Six Improved Crop Management Practices” that taught them how to increase their yields with less input.
The farmers examined fields owned by Surujpaul “Dharma” Chatergoon and Noor Chintaman; both of whom implemented practices from the guide during their last two crops.
During a short ceremony Extension Manager Kuldip Ragnauth told the farmers that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is “coming up with other varieties of paddy that would result in maximum yield.” Ragnauth told Stabroek News that in implementing the “six-point practice” the rice has to be “sown at a time to have maximum light intensity” and that there is “optimum density of plant population to allow for strong and healthy plants. Further, he said seeds have to be treated to avoid “early season pests,” weeds have to be controlled and the land has to be dry before fertilizer is applied. Farmers had been using an improper technique and often applied fertilizer while the fields were waterlogged. This had resulted in as much as 50% losses.
Ragnauth said too that the price for rice has increased on the international market and asked the farmers how much the local millers paid them. Some of the farmers responded that they had gotten from $3,500 to 4,000 per bag.
GRDB Chief Scientist Leroy Small acknowledged that farmers have been challenged by floods in consecutive crops, price for inputs and have delayed in stetting prices. However, the board has tried to “mitigate the pressures farmers are faced with by introducing the six-point practice.” He also advised farmers on cultivation practices to boost quality.
Meanwhile, GRDB Field Extension Officer Shabeer Bacchus, who conducted the new cultivation method in the Bush Lot fields, said a field school has agreed to try the new method. He told this newspaper that despite not using potash – which increases production – he was satisfied with the quality of the grains. He said the method entails ensuring that “water is available two days after applying fertilizer or the rice could damage.”
Sahadeo, a farmer from Essequibo told this newspaper that he is pleased with the results after implementing the method. He said it increased his yield from 220 bags of paddy to 280 bags. Sahadeo said he has advised other farmers from his area to start using the new method. “It is an easier method and it is better for me.
Only one time I have to take in water in the field so that is less traversing on the dam, less wear and tear on my machineries and I only have to pay workers one time,” he said.
