Farmers in Berbice now have access to a soil and disease testing lab that could possibly help increase rice yields after the Nand Persaud Group of Companies in collaboration with the University of Guyana’s Tain Campus yesterday commissioned the facility.
The brand new building is located in the compound of the Johns Science Centre located in Tain Village, Corentyne, Berbice, and will facilitate testing at a cost of $6,000.
Rajendra Persaud, Chairman of the Nand Persaud Group of Companies, told those gathered yesterday that the company understands that in order for its business to survive, it needs to embark on a partnership in the sense that “We need to have everybody profitable, making money and in that way it becomes sustainable and it continues to go on for life”.
He said the lab is to do just that since they believe the potential is there for the rice industry to increase yields by 25 % to 30 %. He noted that the lab will now assist farmers to understand how to treat the soil properly. “By doing a soil test, you are going to save fertiliser and you will just apply the right fertiliser that is needed to maximise the yield,” he noted.
He said they undertook this initiative because they want to assist with ensuring that farming remains profitable.
He also emphasised that agriculture should not be placed on the backburner because there has been a discovery of oil. “We need to have an agenda for agriculture in the presence of oil and gas,” he said.
According to Persaud, taxation in agricultural manufacturing is extremely high. “If you look at rice milling, for example, rice milling is 27 and half percent tax and income tax every year, plus we pay GRDB US$8 per metric tonne on commission for export. US$8 per metric tonne adds up to 2% of turnover, so we are paying 2% turnover plus 27 and half percent tax, this the highest tax in any industry in this country right now”, he said.
He also stated that it is unfair that agriculture sustains and creates employment for persons throughout the country “and has the least attention”.
Persaud stressed that more work needs to be done to ensure that persons within the agriculture industry enjoy the same lives as persons within the oil industry. “I don’t know how much of oil [will] trickle down to the farming community, I haven’t seen it trickle down in Trinidad, so I don’t see it happening in Guyana, so we need to make our agriculture very competitive,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mahendra Persaud, Chief Executive Officer, Nand Persaud Group of Companies, also explained, that the investment in the soil testing facility was possible after the company recognised the benefit to both farmers and university students.
He said the lab will assist both farmers and fishermen to test soil and water, while students at the campus will benefit from training and employment.
According to Mahendra Persaud, reports have shown that the last crop in Region Six produced over 2 million bags of paddy and proved to be the largest crop in the region’s history. “The rice industry is getting bigger, better and more profitable,” he stressed.
He then urged businesses and the chambers of commerce to embark on sponsoring lab testing for farmers.
Also present at the commissioning ceremony were Regional Chairman David Armogan, President of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce Mohammed Raffik, Director of the University of Guyana’s Tain Campus Subramanian Gomathinayagan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Philanthropy, Alumni and Civic Engagement (PACE) and Chair of the Transitional Management Committee (TMC) Dr. Paloma Mohamed-Martin, and other university officials.
Armogan, who also delivered brief remarks at the commissioning, said that it is important for soil-related issues to be addressed urgently and he was elated when he found out that Nand Persaud was partnering with the university to improve the technology to assist farmers.
