Gov’t establishes ‘Paddy Bug Action Unit’ in five regions 

– doles out $2.6M to fight infestation  

The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has injected GY $2.6M into tackling the paddy bug infestation plaguing several rice cultivating regions in Guyana. The funds are being used to purchase insecticides, in addition to the cost attached to carry out spraying in all rice producing Regions.

According to a release, these efforts came on the instruction of Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha. He made the decision in light of the complaints of rice farmers that paddy bugs have been swarming in abandoned fields waiting to destroy the rice crop flowering at this time.

“After receiving reports of paddy bug infestation in several of our rice producing regions, I instructed GRDB to come up with a plan of action. The Board has since spent $2.6 million to tackle the issue at hand. We’ve established Paddy Bug Action Units in these Regions. Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six have also been equipped with a Paddy Bug Management Officer who will work along with extension officers to monitor the paddy bugs and advise farmers on what actions to take to control the infestation,” Minister Mustapha said in the release.

To date, GRDB has commenced spraying in all of the rice producing Regions, paying specific attention to reported cases of extreme infestation to prevent the bugs from migrating.

GRDB General Manager, Nizam Hassan noted that it is critical to get the bugs under control before the crop is at its flowering stage. He said: “We always try to encourage farmers to take precaution before the crop is at this stage. If high numbers of bugs are left in the cultivation, they tend to multiply rapidly as soon as the rice comes into bearing. The objective of the Action Unit is to step in and kill the bugs before this can take place.”

Recently, it was reported that close to 33,000 acres of rice we under threat. Essequibo Coast rice farmers and officials have collaborated to deal with the invasion of paddy bugs. Following reports of the infestations, GRDB has also issued an advisory to guide farmers on ways they can control and minimize the chances of paddy bugs destroying their crops.