Paddy bug wreaking havoc in Region Six

May 17, 2010 News

BENGAL FARM, CORENTYNE – Paddy bug infestation of the entire rice crop in Region Six East Berbice/Corentyne is now up to 13 percent. The most affected is the Borlam/Number Nineteen area where 17 percent of the crop is affected by the paddy bug. These locations have always been prone to flooding.

Most of the paddy harvested in East Berbice/Corentyne recently ranked from Grade ‘C’ to substandard. President of the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association, Leeka Rambrich said this is a direct result of paddy bug damage. Farmers are forced to harvest the green paddy in a bid to escape the bug infestation. This now may minimise loss of crop but results in a lower quality of paddy since the green is showing up in the grade.

Rambrich said that the rate of paddy bug infestation is cause for concern, since farmers are losing in terms of poor grade, an average of 15 per cent of their entire crop.

In other parts of Guyana some lost their entire crop but he said farmers in Region Six were fortunate to get tremendous help from Central Government through the Region Six Administration which lobbied for more assistance. Pumps at Black Bush Polder were rehabilitated and more fuel was given for the pumps to work additional hours to ensure that farmers receive sufficient water to cultivate their fields.

Mr. Rambrich said farmers need to be more vigilant, and only by keeping a close eye on their crop can they minimise their loss.

Up to last Friday, the front lands (areas from Crabwood Creek to New Forest along with East and West Canje, the East Bank of Berbice and New Amsterdam) harvested 19,660 acres at an average of 30.1 bags per acre. At Black Bush the figure was 13,015 acres at 31.8 bags per acre.

A decrease in yield was evident and this was blamed on present land condition due to recent heavy and persistent rainfall. The figure takes to 67 percent the total amount of paddy harvested. Some 49,000 acres were cultivated in Region Six for this first crop.

Meanwhile, farmers have already begun preparation for the second crop. Some 6,766 acres of land in the front lands were dry-ploughed and 5,870 acres in Black Bush Polder.

The farmers who started early were able to make use of the dry-plough system but with the present rain, others must now perform wet land preparation, which is more costly. Up to Friday, 17,013 acres in the front land are under wet land preparation and 1,980 in Black Bush Polder. The front lands have already sown 7,765 acres for the next crop while Black Bush Polder – 635 acres.

According to Rambrich, the Burma Research Station sold 17,757 bags of high quality seed paddy of different variety to selected farmers in East Berbice/Corentyne who would in turn do seed production.