Dear Editor,
The rice industry in Guyana plays a vital role in the country which contributes greatly to the GDP. The Burma Rice Research Station which should be the premium institution for rice in Guyana and further afield is very poorly managed.
The reason for saying this as I have previously indicated through the press is that there are serious problems in the industry, apart from finding high-priced markets for our rice, with: (1) Red rice weeds, (2) issues of paddy bugs and other pest and disease problems, (3) Poor quality of seeds produced at Burma and (4) Poor marketing and biased distribution of the seed paddy produced by the station to the farmers etc. This is all clearly due to having “square pegs in round holes”.
This is a call for President David Granger, Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder to look into these issues and make the necessary changes so that the rice farmers of our country can receive better services from the GRDB Burma Rice Research Station.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
