President Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday that aquaculture has the potential of bringing in a higher level of income than rice production if more focus is placed on that sector.
In a feature address at the International Rice Conference yesterday at the Guyana In-ternational Conference Centre at Liliendaal, President Jagdeo pointed out that the returns from aquaculture would be greater than that from rice, and suggested that the two activities could be done together, the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) reported.
Guyana is marking its 100th anniversary since the country commenced the exportation of rice, one its main products, and the President called on farmers to increase their yields, control their farms, and exercise better farm management to ensure maximum returns from their input in the industry.
At the conference, held under the theme “Meeting rice market demands”, various stakeholders in the industry meet to discuss the way forward for the industry and the demands which may be faced in the future.
Meanwhile, visiting Minister of Investment, Industry and Commerce of Jamaica, Karl Samuda in a presentation assured farmers and the government that Jamaica is committed to continuing its importation of rice from Guyana, adding that this country will remain his country’s premier source of rice, GINA reported.
The Jamaican Minister also stated that it is expected that by next year that island could be importing approximately 60,000 tonnes of rice from Guyana. In order to assure Guyanese of this commitment, he said he was prepared to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with President Jagdeo before he departs for his homeland.
However, the Minister urged that Guyanese consider packaging the product and examining ways in which rice can be marketed in a more dynamic and modern manner.
President Jagdeo, GINA said, thanked the Minister for this assurance but urged local farmers to ensure that they use better varieties and initiate a faster transfer of research done in other parts of the world.
And pointing to the effects climate change may have on the industry, Jagdeo called on farmers to consider what this impact will be even if it is mitigated as the phenomenon is not irreversible.
“What will be its impact on Guyana, especially on rice where rice is grown on the Coast? A lot of water comes down from the highlands…. can we look at the different varieties that thrive under different conditions…..that adjust to climate change, but at the same time maintain the yields because that’s the problem with some of those varieties,” the President was quoted by GINA as saying.
Referring to thousands of hectares which are still unallocated on the coast, the President noted that the country could earn about “(US)$174M from rice but we can earn about (US)$1.5B from aquaculture when we look at comparative types of activities…”
And touching on the recent victory of US President-elect Barack Obama, President Jagdeo said the President-elect would need to be sensitised to the issues facing developing countries.
He concluded that the United States needs to change its trade policy and to remove “the distorting subsidies that the agricultural sector receives there,” adding that the USA needs to start practising what it preaches in order that there be no distortion of the market.
