PARAMARIBO--Two new rice varieties that have been developed at Suriname’s Anne van Dijk Rice Research Center ADRON have been named after President Desi Bouterse.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries LVV reported that the presentation of ADRON DDB 1 and ADRON DDB 2 took place at the ADRON headquarters in District Nickerie, on Friday, April 7. In attendance at the ceremony were LVV Minister Soeresh Algoe, Zoning Minister Roline Samsoedin and Defence Minister Ronni Benschop.
LVV stated in a press release that ADRON DDB 1 and ADRON DDB 2 have extra-long grains – respectively about 10.6mm and 11.5mm. The rice plants reach a height of approximately 108cm and 115cm and they have strong stems, which prevent them from toppling. The plants also have high resistance against sicknesses and pests, particularly a fungus sickness that plagues rice plants. “These varieties can produce up to eight tons per hectare, which is more than the varieties we currently harvest at five tons per hectare,” LVV stated.
The release said that both ADRON and Minister Algoe have high expectations of ADRON DDB 1 and ADRON DDB 2; “a variety that produces more means an increase in export and thus more income for Suriname.”
The release did not explain why the new rice varieties were named after President Bouterse and if the researchers considered the characteristics of the new, taller plants with their tougher stems and longer grains, to be the President’s characteristics.
Ironically the presentation took place at the same date and time that in Paramaribo thousands of protestors had taken to the streets to voice their disagreement with Government’s mismanagement; many want President Bouterse to step down. The 70-year-old former army sergeant who was Suriname’s military leader in the 1980s, was re-elected as President in 2015, but his second term in office has been marred by an obstinate crisis that has held the economy in a headlock since the beginning of 2016.
