Dear Editor,
Red rice weed is currently causing havoc in the rice industry in Guyana. Red rice is a weed also known by many farmers as ‘jaranga’, ‘overhang’, ‘weedy rice’, etc. It also belongs to the Oryza genus to which the normal cultivated rice also belongs. This noxious weed is gradually becoming one of the most destructive weeds and is present in a high percentage of the rice cultivation in Guyana causing an estimated average yield loss of more than 25 to 40 per cent in moderate to severe cases.
It is once again alleged that the Rice Research Station seems to be failing the industry miserably by not providing a solution to this problem faced by our resource-poor farmers, who are already struggling to sustain rice as a business. The farmers look to the team at the Research Station to get proper advice and a solution to their problem, as well as coalition government, since these entities are supposed to be providing the needed technical guidance and service to the farmers.
Should this ‘red rice’ be allowed to continue at its current pace, rice production will see a greater decline in the coming crops, so the government should take steps to correct this situation now.
Mr Claude Housty and board of the GRDB should look into this situation swiftly so that this plague to the industry can be restricted.
Yours faithfully,
T Ross
