With 3 percent of harvesting completed so far for the current rice crop, the continuing La Niña conditions threaten to cause delays but no real danger is expected, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud says.
Farmers are now moving into the hectic period of harvesting, Persaud explained at a press conference yesterday, and the rain will definitely slow up the process. Maintenance of access dams will take more time because of the weather conditions.
The Ministry of Agriculture, he stressed, has already written to the relevant authorities and will continue to offer them support in carrying out their duties during this time. Works are expected to be delayed by three to four days the most, Persaud said.
Besides these periodic interruptions, Persaud assured, no other difficulties have been foreseen for the harvesting this second crop.
Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association Dharamkumar Seeraj explained that harvesting has been completed in Region Two and is near completed in Leguan. Farmers in Region Six have also started to harvest their paddy as well.
Harvesting, he further said, should have already started in Region Three but has been delayed by the current weather conditions. However, if the weather improves it will start by this weekend.
Seeraj, when questioned about the effect of the current irregular high tides, assured that it has not affected rice farmers.
“Rice farmers are more inland and the overtopping situation is not so serious that the water is going so far in land as to affect he rice farms,” Seeraj told Stabroek News yesterday by telephone.
