Guyana to import chemicals from India to combat paddy bug infestation

Due to the ongoing paddy-bug infestation drastically impacting rice productivity in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), farmers will soon receive aid in the form of four new combination chemicals and 4 new AI systems from an Indian-based Company, Rainbow Chemical.
These chemicals are expected to arrive within nine weeks.
Deputy Registrar of the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board, Surest Amichand, made this announcement during a recent visit by members of the Agriculture Ministry, the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board, and Region Six farmers.

“One of the largest companies in India, Rainbow Chemical has registered four new combo chemicals with us, the AIs are different from the ones we have now so those chemicals are registered. The importer is going to start to import them so in a couple of months when the ships reach, we will have those chemicals here,” Amichand told the gathering.
He added that the new importation which is soon to arrive, is vastly different from the pesticides that are currently being used in Guyana.
“4 new chemicals with 4 new AI’s combination chemicals so they are not the ones that we use currently these are different chemicals, some of them are systemic.”
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha acknowledged Amichand’s approach to eliminate the threat, however, he noted that currently, the ministry will have to use what it currently has to fight against the infestation.
“The crops are at a different stage now; some are flowering and some are growing and now is the time that the bugs will want to migrate to go into the field we have to prepare for the big invasion so I am suggesting that we take action now.”
Additionally, he revealed that there will be swift movement to start the insecticides spraying on the rice lands and a committee has been set up to keep track of this.
“Region Six is a very important rice-producing area for us. As a result of that, there were several proposals that the farmers made. But we have looked at the most realistic proposal. That proposal is to help them with the chemicals to spray the areas where the bugs are present hopefully, we can control the bugs.”

He added, “I have asked the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to work along with the farmers, we have set up a paddy bug committee in Region 6 which will monitor it and give me daily reports of what happened. I am hoping that we will be able to control the bugs so that we can have full harvest.”
The report from the newly formed Paddy Bug committee will indicate if further interventions need to be made relating to the insect situation.
A proposal that was supported by a minority of farmers was that there should be spraying done in a nearby Savannah.
Meanwhile, this idea was merely supported due to the possibility of the insecticides causing harm to animals.
Meanwhile, farmers have acknowledged that the substantial investments and interventions made by the government over the years have resuscitated the rice industry, as well as enhanced rice production and their livelihoods.
Due to these direct investments and policies, rice farmers are optimistic that they will surpass this year’s rice production target of 710,000 tonnes, as compared to 653,000 tonnes last year.
Additionally, farmers will also have improved access to drainage and irrigation, as several outfalls will be cleared in the region, which will provide significant relief.
To date, 68,000 acres of rice land are currently under cultivation in the region and Paddy Bugs infestation are posing a Grand threat to rice farms as most crops are currently in the flowering stage.