CONSULTATIONS on enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of Guyana’s rice industry, as well as discussions on a 10-year Strategic Plan for its development, opened yesterday at the Cara Inn, Kitty, Georgetown.

It was the first in a three-part series of consultations scheduled for this week. The second will be held in Corentyne, Berbice tomorrow and the third in Anna Regina, Essequibo on Friday.

Agriculture Minister, Navin Chandarpal, in a short, comprehensive analysis of the rice sector on both the local and international scenes, said the consultations were the beginning of the "way forward" for the industry.

"This is a very timely exercise, timely because we are at a stage where the rice sector has been experiencing a number of difficulties...," Chandarpal told the large gathering of stakeholders.
"Internally, we have a situation where there has been a period in which the fortunes of the rice industry have been fluctuating and we've had to go through some very difficult times," Chandarpal noted.

He said that in some instances, the fortunes of the rice farmers and millers have not been what they would have liked.

Chandarpal also reminded stakeholders that they cannot go about the business of rice production in isolation. "We need to look and find ways in which we can pool our efforts together and we can do more to help in those areas where resources are limited...we have to move the industry forward, together."

He also acknowledged that over the years, and despite many difficulties and challenges, the industry has demonstrated a lot of "resilience".

Director of the Caribbean Rice Association (CRA) and member of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), Beni Sankar said he thinks Guyana has the "best rice farmers".

"I still feel that we have the best farmers in this country; they are very hard working people," he stated.

Head of the European Union delegation to Guyana, Ambassador Vincent DeVisscher noted that the action plan is aimed at preparing the industry to meet the challenges and be competitive in the 21st Century.

He said the EU is committed to helping it to be competitive and to meet the challenges, and has pledged its assistance in this regard.

DeVisscher also urged all the players to work together to move the industry forward since he, too, recognised that the major stakeholders cannot work in isolation.

General Secretary of the RPA, Dharamkumar Seeraj noted that yesterday's consultations marked "a qualitative leap in the way the industry people integrated". He said that judging from the agenda, "I see that we have our work cut out here for us".

The industry, one of the most important agricultural sectors in Guyana, would benefit from the 10-year Strategic Plan which outlines procedures for improving the quality, quantity and processing of rice and its by-products.

Officials noted that with the proper implementation of the plan, the country can realise a future of an integrated, sustainable and profitable industry, producing and marketing rice for the benefit of all Guyanese.

The Plan was initiated by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), which met key stakeholders over a period of time, and with the help of data collected through interviews, questionnaires and a strategic planning workshop last year.

Board officials said the group recognised the need to improve industry operations which required the development of a positive, collective plan if it is to successfully and sustainably market its products internationally.

The objective of the Strategic Plan (2001 -2011) is to create an integrated and sustainable rice industry that can produce, process and competitively market high quality rice to the benefit of all Guyanese.

Three general goals entail increasing rice production and productivity to an estimated 38 bags per acre to the point where Guyana becomes internationally competitive; improving the post harvest handling system so rice quality is maintained or improved and quantity losses are reduced to the minimum; and creating conditions whereby the industry can compete effectively in all target markets.

Some specific objectives of the plan are to:

** formulate and/or improve national policies that support the systemic development of the rice industry;

** create conditions whereby rice farmers have access to appropriate and state-of-the-art technologies and methods for efficient rice production, on a regular basis;

** establish systems to operate and maintain drainage and irrigation infrastructure in a sustainable manner;

** efficiently provide quality rice seeds of appropriate varieties to meet national demand;

** create systems that provide necessary support services to rice farmers in a sustainable manner;

** reduce post harvest losses from drying, cleaning, storage and transport to acceptable levels;

** maximise recovery during milling, producing a marketable product at a competitive price, i.e. increase whole grain yield of acceptable quality rice to 50% by 2005;

** increase profit margins by improving management of post harvest systems and adding value to rice and by-products, where feasible;

** create a system that regularly provides stakeholders with the decision-making information they require; and

** organise an inter-disciplinary rice lobbying body that effectively projects the competitive advantages of Guyana's rice.

A sectoral analysis of the sector in Guyana and the Caribbean region, conducted by the EU and CARIFORUM, indicated that although the utilisation of rice for livestock feed increased in recent years, rice remains essentially a grain for human consumption and a staple food for about half of the world’s population.

Global demand for rice in the next decade is expected to expand at slightly less than one percent per year, down from 1.7 percent in the 1990s.

World rice trade is projected to expand by about 1.5 percent per year to 29.3 million tonnes in 2010 compared with the average of 24.9 million tonnes at the beginning of the century.

It was noted that Guyana and Suriname are the only two significant rice exporters within the ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific countries) and CARIFORUM. But the quantities the countries manage to export have decreased significantly, following adverse domestic and international circumstances which affected both production and marketing.

The export flows of both countries are still primarily oriented towards the EU, where in 2001, Suriname sold more than 70 percent of its exports as compared with about 63 percent in the case of Guyana.

The analysis also revealed that the contribution of the sector to the region's economic performance is significant. The Caribbean industry overall generates a yearly income of US$250M to US$300M, contributing to the livelihood of about 85,000 farm families directly, and a further 80,000 in support/processing services.