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History of Guyana Rice Development Board The GRDB was established in 1995, in pursuance of the Guyana Rice Development Board Act No. 15 of 1994. The three entities that were controlling the state’s interests in the industry prior to the formation of GRDB were dissolved. The roles of these entities – the Guyana Rice Export Board (GREB), Guyana Rice Milling & Marketing Authority (GRMMA) and the National Padi & Rice Grading Centre (NPRGC) have been usurped and are now pursued by GRDB. The main objectives of the GRDB include.
a) To develop the rice industry in Guyana and to promote the expansion of the export trade in the said industry;
b) To establish facilities for the conduct of research, relating to rice and extending to rice farmers through an established system, the benefits derived from such research;
c) To engage in such promotional and developmental activities which the Board deems necessary for the purpose of developing the rice industry. The industry incorporates many stakeholders, farmers, millers, exporters, consumers, input suppliers, transport providers and the public sector to name but a few. Rice production is carried out by private producers, the vast majority of whom are small-scale farmers with the average size of rice farms being 10 – 20 acres. It has been estimated that there are approximately 10,000 farm families that depend on rice for their livelihood. Guyana also has 105 privately owned rice mills. In addition to farm families, workers in the rice mills, exporters, input suppliers, etc also depend either directly or indirectly on the rice industry. Thus approximately 100,000 persons (14% of the entire population) rely on this vital industry. Guyana’s rice production, and also exports, have increased dramatically over the 1990’s. This has resulted from both an expansion of the area cultivated and increases in yield. The area cultivated has more than doubled (127,000 acres to 286,000 acres from 1990-2000), with yields increasing from 1.23 tonnes per acre to 1.57 tonnes over this period.
The increases in production have not been entirely consistent however, due to the highly variable weather patterns with both droughts and floods associated with the El Ni�o/La Ni�a phenomenon. In 1999 total rice production was 365,469 metric tonnes with 251,519 metric tonnes (69%) being exported.
The year 2000 saw a decline in both production and exports to 291,967 tonnes and 207,638 tonnes respectively. This resulted from a combination of factors. Heavy flooding occurred in early 2000. Global rice prices declined dramatically, in 1999 the average f.o.b. price per tonne of cargo rice received on the EU market was US$290, this declined to approximately US$245-US$215 in 2000 (compared with a price of US$412 that was achieved in 1996). This compounded the financial difficulties of the industry, as did the significant increase in oil prices that affected the highly mechanised production process.
At the present time Guyana’s rice industry is undertaking a participatory strategic planning process to chart a course for the next 10 years. The industry foresees a bright future, but also acknowledges the challenges that must be faced in order to achieve this. |
