AGRICULTURE

Jun 21, 2008 Editorial

We are well into the rainy season which from all accounts is likely to extend into July.

So far there have been few reports of flooding of cultivated areas even though there is likely to be accumulation on the land because of the generally inadequate runoff of water throughout the coastland.

The weather this season has so far been lighter and kinder than in previous seasons which saw high intensity and abnormal patterns of rainfall, resulting in flooding in many areas.

To its credit, the government, and particularly the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, have been working around the clock to deal with any problems that may arise.

The new head of the NDIA has shown a willingness to address public concerns and is often seen leading by example. Among the many impressive things that are taking place under his watch are the close monitoring of the opening and closing of sluices, the activation of drainage pumps and the installation of new pumps in many areas.

In addition, even though there is still a great deal of work to be done, millions are being spent to keep the drainage canals flowing. In summary, while nothing can be done about the weather, something can and is being done about its effects.

Dealing with drainage is of course critical to the Grow More Food campaign which the government launched with great fanfare and which it indicated will be market driven.

There needs to be some clarification and re-emphasis of this latter point because there is the widespread perception within society that the Grow More Food campaign is simply about sharing out seeds in order to increase production and allow as many persons as possible to be engaged in some form of productive activity.
We are confident that this is not what the Ministry of Agriculture has in mind.

Foremost, Guyana needs to guarantee an increase in production in its critical export products, sugar and rice. A surge in exports will bring greater benefits to rice and cane farmers but more especially, for rice whose price has risen astronomically on the world market.

In the case of sugar, Guyana needs to ensure that it exports more so as to compensate for the anticipated shortfall in price offered by the European Union.

Guyana also needs to ensure that it meets its exports quotas in both of these crops.
The problems of the Jamaican rice market could have been avoided if Guyana had not in the past developed a track record of unreliability of servicing its export markets.

This would have allowed Guyana to be firmer in pressing its case against those countries that avoided purchasing rice from Guyana.

In the case of sugar, while the price within the EU had declined, Guyana needs to ensure that it does not in any way fall short on its export commitments to that market as well as to regional markets.

Guyana must also recognize that it will send a strong signal as a reliable supplier of sugar if it is able to avoid the importation of this commodity.

Guyana should have by now been able to satisfy the local demand for white sugar without having to import this product.

The Grow More Food campaign therefore, while it should lead to an increase in non- traditional agriculture production, should not lose focus of the importance of supporting traditional agriculture which remains the most important sector of the economy, a sector which unfortunately is vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather.

For this reason, the Ministry of Agriculture, while mobilizing farmers and farming communities to grow more food, should equally organize community support and involvement on massive scale to maintain drainage and irrigation canals.

It is too much to ask farmers to clean canals that are clogged up and overgrown. That requires machinery, but once clean there should be a collaborative effort by all concerned to ensure that these drainage canals, particularly those that run through villages, are kept clean.