Govt to invest in drying and storage facility on the Essequibo Coast – VP

Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on Sunday announced that a huge investment will be made in the construction of a massive drying floor and storage facility along the Essequibo Coast in the next term of office. The project, which comes amid a surge in paddy production across the region, is aimed at addressing the new challenges brought about by the overwhelming success in the rice industry.

Speaking at a public meeting held at the Pomona Sports Ground in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Dr Jagdeo highlighted the need to adapt to the growth in production, which has resulted in twice as much rice from the same or slightly increased acreage, thanks to improved varieties and enhanced support to farmers.
“Yesterday I met with the rice farmers. But what’s the problem now? We have increased the yield so much. We have twice as much rice now than say, crops that lasted from the same acreage, or maybe a little growing acreage, than we had a couple of years ago. A bumper crop… Everyone I spoke with, all the rice farmers there, said we’ve done extremely well. We’re getting 10, 15 bags more per acre. And so, it’s because we’ve worked with the farmers to improve technology, new variety came in, et cetera,” he explained.
However, the VP acknowledged that the success of the rice industry has led to new logistical concerns around storage and drying, especially during the peak harvesting season.
“The problem now from this success is that we have to find new markets. So we have committed now – we’re working with the millers to buy the rice. But in the next term in office, the Government will invest in a massive drying and storage facility here on the Essequibo Coast,” he announced.

The VP said this intervention is critical to sustaining the industry’s momentum and ensuring that farmers are not left without the infrastructure needed to support their yields. He further emphasised that the Government has consistently kept faith with the nation’s farmers by delivering on promises and providing tangible assistance throughout the years.
“We need to take care of this because that’s the trend of the future… Even now, this year, we’re going to be giving as promised to all farmers in the rice industry assistance of two billion dollars of help in fertilisers. They will get fertiliser. They’ve been getting fertiliser. They get other assistance from the state. We kept faith with the farmers of this country,” the VP said
Also in attendance were Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva, Regional Chairman Humace Oodit, Member of Parliament (MP) Juilet Choonja, Member of Parliament (MP) Sara Brown, along with other regional officials.