General Secretary of the Rice Producers Association (RPA), Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj yesterday told the Chronicle that the educative and sensitising campaign embarked upon jointly by the RPA and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to make rice farmers more aware of the weed has shown results.

He said the response by farmers to the sessions across the country has been good, and so far seminars have been successfully conducted in Essequibo and West Berbice.

Sessions will be conducted today on the Corentyne.

Seeraj said that more than 400 farmers across the country, including 175 from Essequibo, where the threat by the weed is greatest, were able to access the weedicide required for combating it.

He said the current crop is on target and from all indications it will be a successful one.

However, he observed that there a few critical areas that are in need of irrigation water, among them the islands of Leguan and Wakenaam, and Crabwood Creek.

But he pointed out that the acreages that lack water are small and some farmers have begun pumping water into their fields.

In the case of Leguan and Wakenaam there is no conservancy and water cannot be pumped in from the sea because of its salt content, so farmers will have to depend on rain, Seeraj said.

He said that `Schoonard's Grass' has been discovered mainly on the Essequibo Coast.

It has a similar appearance to the rice plant and competes with it for nutrients, thereby reducing the amount that is received by the rice plant.

Asked about measures to counter the spread of the weed, he said there is only one weedicide, `Nominee' that has been proven to be effective against its spread.

But it is expensive, costing some $90,000 per litre, he said.

However, Seeraj said the RPA in collaboration with the GRDB has been providing farmers with the weedicide at a reduced price.

He estimated that of the 170,550 acres of cultivated rice countrywide this crop, about 6,000 acres have been affected by the weed

The emergence of paddy bug has been mainly in the Cane Grove community but only in small quantities, and presently poses no serious threat, he said.

However, if allowed to multiply, especially nearing harvest time, the pest could have a severe negative impact on production, the official said.

The weather so far has been excellent for rice cultivation and if it holds good the crop would be a very good one.

It has the potential of yielding more than five million bags of paddy with an estimated national yield average of 30 bags per acre - an increase of three bags over the last crop, Seeraj said.

Full harvesting of the current crop is expected to begin in March, but because of early cultivation on the Essequibo Coast it is anticipated that initial harvesting would begin there in early February.

Touching on the price that would be offered to farmers for their paddy, Seeraj said he is hoping that it would be better than the price for the last crop, but it is too early to make a pronouncement on the issue.

On the progress being made with the rescheduling of debts by farmers, agreed upon between the Government and the banking sector, Seeraj said there is ongoing progress for the farmers in the below $10M grouping, but those in the above $10M category have not benefited as yet. However, he said Finance Minister, Mr. Saisnarine Kowlessar recently met bankers and a draft proposal was put forward to facilitate those in the above $10M category.

The document is to be finetuned and finalised before the implementation of the rescheduling of debts to the banks, he said.