Contact the minister of Agriculture or his Ministry, he never set his foot in a rice filed and is quite knowledgeable in Rice farming.

how would a poser like u know?

i haven't stepped foot in a rice field in over 40 years and still know 10 times more about rice than u

redux..any current info??

I grow up in my teenage years on my Grandfather 3 acre

plot in those days they were planting a variety called D9,

yield was around 15~20 average 180 lb blue band bags

per acre.

Currently i assume with the new variety,they yield about

30~40 120 lbs bags per acre,all i am looking for is if

some one can provide the correct info.

I do not know how much help I can be. I do not plant rice. My parents did years ago. Inhave  many friends on the Essequibo and at Mahaicony who plant rice and from them I have some info. Rice yields depend on several factors. One of these is the type of soil. Planters in Essequibo get a higher yield from 30 gags to 45 bags an acre. In Mahaicony, where the soil is different, yields range from 25 to 35 bags an acre. Some get up to 40 bags an acre, but these are well managed, lots of fertilizers, etc. Need to consider use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, availability of water when needed, weather at crucial growing period and reaping, availability of machines, variety of paddy planted, etc.

The weight of a bag of paddy used to be 140 pounds. However, this is increased if there is moisture and foreign objects in paddy. So now some millers would say that because of the amount of moisture, a bag will be 150 pounds. Many farmers do not use the actual bags, they have large trucks and the millers depending on the weight and moisture and foreign objects will convert it to bags. This area is a major concern for planters because the millers have control. Also, the price for a bag of paddy is determined by grade. From what I have heard, the most that planters are getting is $2000 for A grade but few people get this. I have heard price ranging from $1400 to $2000 per bag.

I was in  Essequibo on Saturday and Mahaicony today. Both places are really dry. Trenches are dry. Many farmers have finished preparing the fields but are waiting for water to plant. Planters are complaining about low prices and not receiving their money from the millers. They owe money from last crop and are uncertain what to do. They are between a rock and a hard place. Millers seem to be in control over the whole process and many farmers feel helpless over the whole process. The laws and regulations regarding moisture, the payment to farmers are often disregarded.

i hope that this helps. Will appreciate comments from the experts to expand my understanding.

Your explanation covers the gist of the issues.

The issues of the millers and growers exist for ages with no signs of improvements.

Zed,thank you,

i am looking into world prices paid for dried

paddy,a quick glance of the info,the millers

seems to be short changing the farmers,will

post later.

The government or someone else needs to really develop reliable data on the rice industry regarding the cost of production in particular areas and sizes of plots and the breakdown of size of plots planted, owned and planted, rented, etc. Then people can improve the decision making process. I was sitting in the hire car in Essequibo and the car driver worked out for me how he lost approx $20000 per acre on his 10 Acres of land. I sat there and listened respectfully, but wondered about some of the figures he gave me. He got $1800 per bag but hid fertilizer prices, ploughing and chipping costs and pesticide costs seemed high but I did not have any actual figures on my own to judge the veracity of what he was telling me. Last year, I phoned the RPA asking for info and they did not have this kind of info about cost of production for particular localities and sixzes, cultivation sizes. They gave me best estimates. Maybe, if time permits, I will enlist the help of some farmers to help in this project.

"Planters are complaining about low prices and not receiving their money from the millers. They owe money from last crop and are uncertain what to do. They are between a rock and a hard place. Millers seem to be in control over the whole process and many farmers feel helpless over the whole process. The laws and regulations regarding moisture, the payment to farmers are often disregarded."

This has been shown as the problem the rice farmers face. Why can't issues be dealt with as they become more transparent by ?????

IN THIS INSTANCE, Who has the power to tell millers, "Pay up or...??

There is currently a law that sets out the time limits for payment by the millers. All monies must be paid by seven week, I think. There are penalties prescribed in the law. However, the previous government did not enforce the penal provisions and in fact lent the millers money so that they can part some part to farmers. Nothing was done by this government as yet as they are still figuring out their policy approach to the industry and this issue. thus we have a situation where the farmer bears the financial cost for the working capital of the millers. I was told that there are regulations dealing with moisture content and weight but these are not being followed and that the RPA seems to have difficulty in figuring out exactly who it represents and how it should be done.

We had blue band and three stripes. One held precisely around 180 lbs. The blueband was used because the combine owners charged by the bags and the blueband held an additional 20 to 40 lbs.

The milled rice was 120 lbs per bag and again the miller never sought to keep the rice until paid. He was also paid by the bag. The idea of farmers fronting millers is new.

The old D19 and 78 of the 80's used to yield between 10 to 15 bags per acre. That changed with blue belle which yielded some 24 bags and increased to around 32 with rustic and the newer strains.

BlueBelle was the game changer but it usually drowned in the water because its stalk was short. These newer varieties all average 24 bags and above.