RICE PRODUCTION AND
PRECISION AG IN SURINAME
PRESENTED BY
NATASHA MACNACK
APRIL, 2011
Outlines
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Rice facts from around the world
Suriname facts
Rice production in Suriname
Current practices and need for
improvement
• Actions & initiatives towards
improvement (ADRON)
Rice production worldwide
Rank
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Grown > 100 countries
Nearly 160 million hectares
> 700 million tons/year
± 90% produced in Asia
Area
Production (MT)
1 China
193,354,175
2 India
3 Indonesia
4 Bangladesh
148,260,000
60,251,072
46,905,000
5 Viet Nam
6 Thailand
7 Myanmar
8 Philippines
9 Brazil
10 Japan
11 Pakistan
12 United States of America
13 Egypt
14 Republic of Korea
15 Cambodia
Rice production top 15 countries
Source: FAOSTAT
38,725,100
31,650,632
30,500,000
16,815,548
12,061,465
11,028,750
10,428,000
9,241,173
7,253,373
6,919,250
7,175,473
Suriname facts
Population: 447,000
Area:163,265 square kilometers (63,037
square miles)
Formerly known as Dutch Guyana
Official Language: Dutch
Main ethnic groups: East Indians or
Hindustani, Creole, Indonesian, Maroon,
Native Indians, Chinese
Independence: 1975
Economy
Bauxite and gold mining, alumina
production
Agriculture: Paddy rice, bananas
TIMELINE
We distinguish seven overlapping steps in the Rice development in Suriname
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Until 1873, Cultivation of mainly dry land rice;
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1873-1900, Paddy rice or irrigated rice was informally introduced in Suriname by Indians and
Javanese;
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1900-1949, The Agricultural experimentstation the only institute that supported Rice production in
Suriname with research;
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1933-1949, Research in mechanization of Rice production by van Dijk and later the addition of
rice breeding by Ir. A. D. Van Dijk, in collaboration with the Agricultural experiment station;
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1949-1975, The foundation for Mechanized agriculture Suriname (Stichting Machinale Landbouw
Suriname (SML)) introduces mechanized rice production on their land supported by research and
rice breeding;
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1975-1993, The SML could no longer be supported as a research institute and became more of a
production company;
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1994, Anne van Dijk Rice Research Center Nickerie (ADRON)starts its research, focus is on
breeding
Rice Production in Suriname
More than 100 years rice cultivation experience
More than 60 years research experience
Mainly cultivated in the north western part of
Suriname
Constructed paddy area (55.000 hectare)
Current Production stands at 182,877 (0.03% of world production)
Rice farms can roughly be divided into:
- Small Farms 1-24 ha
- Mid level farms 25-250 ha
- Large scale farms> 250 ha
Export markets for Suriname Rice
Other, 15%
Netherlands,
35%
Other EU,
19%
Caricom,
30%
Volume of Rice exported from Suriname (000’s MT) 2001-2009
Current practices and need for improvement
Main factors high output
•Good quality seed
•Good leveled production fields
•Early sowing
•Low level of red rice
(1%Red rice=400kg loss paddy/ha)
•Proper water management
•Rate and timing of fertilizer
application
Current practices and need for
improvement
Water management
Traditionally: 5-6 passes in
preparing land
 Dry Tillage
 Wet Tillage
o Flooding the field
o Plowing
o Puddling
o Leveling:
o Four-wheel tractor using rear mounted tractor blades or wooden beam
o Not enough attention to land leveling
Laser leveling
• Better water distribution
across the field
• Better Crop stands
• Reduces weed problems
• Results in uniform crop
maturity
Current practices and need for
improvement
Water management
“having water where you need it and when you need it”
- Improper functioning of irrigation & Drainage
infrastructure
- Lack of maintenance on Canals & Civil engineering
works
- Inadequate functioning of water management units
Inefficient use of freshwater
Canal overgrown by aquatic weed
Consequences
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Production decreases
Constructed rice production areas left idle
Higher production costs
Late sowing
Actions & initiatives towards improvement
Anne van Dijk Rice Research Center (ADRON)
Part of International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice
Rice related research
Focus is on: Breeding, testing new lines and conservation
Genetic material from IRRI and CIAT
Government Programs in Collaboration with the EU
Actions& initiatives towards improvement
cont’d
• Land preparation
Minimum Tillage introduced
Training farmers in benefits of leveling
Use of laser leveling
• Water management
Water management bodies
Government subsidizes maintenance of
infrastructure
ADRON studies (field level) of interactions with
fertilizers/nutrients
Conclusions
• PA involves doing the right things in the right
place at the right time
• Many inefficiencies in the field
• Many can be traced back to Government
policy
Dank u wel!
THANK YOU!