Region Six Chairman David Armogan has confirmed that there is a paddy bug infestation in the Black Bush, Crabwood Creek and Corentyne front land areas.
Armogan told Sunday Stabroek that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) was apprised of the situation, which has been ongoing for over two weeks and it is working to select an insecticide to effectively deal with the situation.
“Actually the insecticide that was used in the past, the paddy bug has now become resistant to these types of chemical and now there are some new chemicals that have come out recently, and they are trying to deal with it,” he said.
“The GRDB is on top of the situation. They are trying to help the farmers and experiment with some other different chemicals that seem to be working because the RPA [Rice Producers Association] President did indicate to us at the meeting yesterday that there is a new chemical that he has been using and is getting excellent results, so you might have to introduce that to other farmers,” he added.
However, Armogan noted that the infestation is expected to see a decline in “the quality of paddy” and thereby impacting the fortunes of farmers. He said, “Millers pay based on the quality of the paddy, so once that happen, even though the production levels might be the same as last crop you would find that the monies that farmers would receive would be less because the quality that has been reduced as a result of [the] paddy bug infestation.”
Additionally, Armogan said that so far there were no infestation reports coming from the East and West Canje as well as the East Bank Berbice areas.
