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Packages of rice displayed on the shelves of a local supermarket.

SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine:

At a time when food shortage is the topical issue worldwide, in Jamaica, there is one man who thinks he has the answers to growing rice here efficiently.

Gerval Weir, an agronomist by training and farmer of Church Pen, St Catherine, told The Gleaner he has extensive training in rice production and could aid several small farmers by way of training in how to cultivate it.

"While persons are talking about semi-aquatic and aquatic rice fields, this product can also be cultivated with mulch in the same manner you deal with sugarcane, yam, banana and other provisions," said Weir.

Types of rice

Among the types of rice that Weir said can be cultivated on mulch are the Cyprus and the basmati variety.

He said many of the other types, which number more than 100, can be raised in aquatic conditions.

He said persons who are going into rice production need to be taught how to cultivate the grain which, he says, takes up to 60 days to gain full maturity.

"You put the seeds in four to eight inches of good top soil, with water, and after this starts to grow, it is then removed to the field where it's planted and is expected to grow within 60 days," explained Weir.

He mentioned that pollination helps to make the process more economical. Manual pollination is done with one person standing at the end of a line of rice tied with a piece of rope. Another person stands at the other end of the line and shakes the rice trees, multiplying the amount of grain produced.

Training

Weir said that his authority came from the training he received at the Jamaica School of Agriculture and Tuskegee University where he earned his masters in agriculture education. He also lectured in Green Industry and Technology at Houston Community College in the United States and has done rice research technology in Puerto Rico, Belize and other countries.

On his return to Jamaica in 1995, he became the farm manager at College of Arts Science and Education, where he tried to impart rice cultivation to students and left several samples there.

Weir also mentioned that he has been trying to get the attention of the Government, which, he says, should be interested in using his services to train persons on how to properly deal with rice cultivation.

He also showed several types of mills that can be used to thresh the grains, since using a mortar is tedious.

- Rasbert Turner