Farmers, millers trained in rice grading

Jul 21, 2013 News

The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) in partnership with the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, has started a training programme for the graders at mills and for farmers across the region.
The aim is to get them to better understand how the quality of rice is graded.
The GRDB, which is the regulatory body of the rice industry, has started this programme in an effort to restore the confidence in the graders. The board has also stressed that it is here to ensure equality and transparency, from the checking of the graders to the quality of the grading equipment used.
General Manager of the GRDB, Jagnarine Singh, said that the training programme started since last week in Essequibo. “There have been complaints about a high percentage of infestation in the paddy we are taking to Venezuela and the complaints come more so from Essequibo so we have started there,” said Singh.
The General Manager added that they have currently divided the country into three regions. A senior officer will be sent at least twice a week to examine the day to day operations of the mill. This will be done to bring back some semblance of fairness and to ensure that the rights of the farmers are protected and they are graded fairly.
The minimum requirement for farmers who are a part of the training programme is for them to at least know how to read properly .The training will last for four weeks. The programme will be taken to Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six.
Though the GRDB has officers at several mills, Singh said that they still receive complaints about the grades farmers would receive. He said that if the farmers are aggrieved with the price they receive from the graders at the mills, they should by all means appeal to the board and this has to be done within 24 hours. Their concerns will be dealt with promptly.
“We are trying as much as possible to get people to help with the next crop that is coming. Though we are training in every region, we intend to train 20 farmers at least to help us with this and before the next crop is harvested, all the graders and farmers would have completed their training,” expressed Singh.
“We don’t want the farmers grading. That is not what they will be trained to do. They will just oversee. We don’t want them grading because that is supposed to be done by the people buying the paddy. The graders at the mills will have that responsibility. That is why they are being trained, tested and certified.”
However, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, said, “While it is important that the graders at the mills ensure that grading is done correctly, we have been training the farmers in Essequibo to grade their own rice so that their interest can be protected. The combination of the farmers and us will help to keep the millers in check”.

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Farmers, millers trained in rice grading

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