Rice farmers are no doubt reassured that they do not have an immediate crisis on their hands as regards the sale of the last and current crops. But there must still be niggling concerns as to what the future holds for them. This is not the first time that rice farmers have been in this situation; it’s an ongoing issue.
Rice’s highs and lows have seen lands abandoned, reclaimed and abandoned again over the years. Before the Venezuela market emerged as a saviour of sorts, rice had been in the doldrums in terms of its exportability. It had been struggling to gain access to certain Caricom markets, which prefer to purchase extra-regional rice, the common external tariff notwithstanding.
While a few large planters/millers have been finding their own markets, the average rice producer leaves this function to government-controlled agencies such as the Guyana Rice Development Board. But even with the best efforts of this organization, it was found that local rice also could not compete on the world market. It has long been overtaken in terms of quality and price by the products of the huge global rice-producing nations, mainly in Asia. The fact that Venezuela continues to be, largely, the only market for locally produced rice and paddy does not augur well for the industry.
Guyana has also been limited in terms of the varieties it can offer. A look at most local supermarket shelves will reveal that popular varieties like Jasmine, Basmati and Arborio rice are being imported. Further, value-added rice products like the ready-seasoned packages from brands like the popular US’s Uncle Ben and rice cereal from Kellogg’s can often be found in local shopping baskets.
The issue of adding value to local products for export has been debated ad nauseam. Moves in this direction to date, and not just in the rice industry, have been tentative on the part of the government and observed in the breach by foreign investors; the timber industry being a case in point.
Guyana has got to start to look beyond markets for bulk rice and bulk paddy. In fact this should have been done years ago in view of the fact that while rice remains a favourite staple in many places, tastes are changing.
Healthy eating is not a passing fad, it’s here to stay and therefore all sectors need to take cognizance of this. The 21st century man/woman is looking for foods that complement his/her lifestyle and these would include them being organic, quick and easy to prepare and with proven health benefits. Providing these to an increasingly discerning market calls for a lot of research, including trial and error. Guyana lags far behind the competition in this regard. However, it’s not too late. Food discoveries are still being made and there’s no reason why Guyana cannot be the place from where the next big thing emerges. But it would be foolish to pin all hopes on that. What our scientists should be exploring is other applications for rice and/or paddy. Asia already has a lock on liquor (sake) and rice paper, but surely science as progressive and evolving as it is could not limit this grain to its current applications.
Rice husk is already being used as an alternative energy source in Asia, and at least one local miller, Ramlakhan & Sons at Exmouth, Essequibo Coast is doing the same. As this newspaper reported in April, Ramlakhan invested some US$230,000 in a rice husk gasifier having done the research and figured out that the savings to be gained from ceasing to use six gallons of diesel an hour would make it worthwhile.
Last year too, this newspaper had reported on a memorandum of understanding which had been signed between the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) and the Pinnacle Group, which would have entailed building separate facilities for biomass power generation and to transform biomass waste into pellets for future use. This wider project included not just rice husk but bagasse from sugar production, waste wood from sawmills and coconut shells. The current status of this project is not known although the reuse of coconut shells was to have started in March this year.
It is likely that the possibilities for rice and paddy are as yet unexplored, though this would hardly calm the fears of the average farmer looking to continue to be viable in these uncertain times.
