Dear Editor,
Please allow me to echo and support the sentiments of Ganga Persaud in his letter captioned ‘There was poor germination of rice seedlings from Burma station this crop.’ Rice farmers throughout the country have suffered the same fate with the purchase of seed paddy from both the RPA and the Burma Research Station.
Often, rice farmers suffer from inadequate access to quality seed at prices they can afford. Obstacles to small-scale farmers’ ability to obtain good seed from these two entities include weak production and poor quality control mechanisms. Poor quality seeds are a major problem in many parts of the rice-growing regions of Guyana, with unscrupulous government and private dealers selling poor quality substitute to farmers, many of whom like Ganga Persaud, only discover their costly mistake when their harvest fails.
Other major problems are the lack of information and inadequate national seed policies. Many of the so-called extension officers are not trained or even qualified in seed production, and they do not monitor and certify the seed plots to ensure quality. The seed systems of the Burma Research Station and RPA need to be strengthened to make them more resilient so that farmers will have access to adapted varieties that meet their varying needs.
Soaring seed prices and poor quality imply a complex set of challenges for the entire rice-growing region and in particular for vulnerable small farmers. The Burma Research Station and RPA market the improved seeds certified by local regulatory authorities, but these are not always suited to poor farmers and there is growing criticism in some quarters. In the rice industry, the production of good seed material is of paramount importance, and the success of the rice industry of Guyana pivots on a sound seed programme.
The mechanism to achieve the seed requirements should be outlined to the extension staff in the various regions, as well as to make sure they visit the seed plots on a regular basis, presenting a report sheet on their findings and the days of the visits. In these regions the extension officers will have to identify suitable plots and register the seed growers. The seed growers these officers often select are friends and family, who sometimes have contaminated plots with red rice and Schoonard grass.
Prior to the harvesting of these seed plots, the extension officer does not make field visits. The first visit is to advise on crop husbandry practices and overlook the entire field in general, but this is not being done. The field is supposed to be sampled for purity, insect and other pest damage. If the field has reached the quality of C-1 seeds, the farmer will be issued with a certificate, but this is not happening.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan