Big Falls Rice to be launched on Friday in Big Falls, Toledo by the Belize Marketing and Development Corporation (BMDC)

Photo Credit: MAFSE/BMDC

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: The Belize Marketing and Development Corporation (BMDC) is launching Big Falls Rice on Friday in Big Falls, Toledo. The rice has been in the Belize market, particularly Toledo and Orange Walk since last month.

BMDC Managing Director Valentin Carrillo said last year BMDC restarted milling rice at the Big Falls Mill which had stopped sometime before and found out that the mill could still produce very high-quality rice.

“This year we took the challenge and said we can mill rice,” Carrillo said.

“We said, this year we will register our Big Falls Rice with the Bureau of Standards and promote it. We were waiting for our bagging material to reach so that we can do the launching of the Big Falls brand.”

The Big Falls Rice is sold in 1, 2, 5, and 20-pound bags in Premium and Grade A qualities.

“Premium is whole grain with basically no half grain or quarter grain and Grade A has a small percentage of broken but you rarely see it,” Carrillo said.

“We are going to distribute slowly and it’s already available in Big Falls, Punta Gorda, and Orange Walk,” Carrillo said, promising the rice will soon be in San Pedro and then the other areas of the country.

Carrillo explained that since the Big Falls Mill is doing its own milling now, BMDC has been able to increase the price it pays farmers from 29 cents to 40 cents per pound of paddy. Before last year the Big Falls Mill was only operating as a drying facility as it had been doing for the past six years.

“The farmers took their rice paddy. We bought it at 29 cents, we dried it, and then we sold it to Spanish Lookout in Cayo or to Shipyard in Orange Walk,” Carrillo said.

“So, there was no way we could address the price. The only way I saw we could make some changes is if we started to mill the rice; the paddy into white rice and we sold it in our own packaging. With consultation with the management, we decided to mill. For some reason they gave the directive to stop milling some six years ago.”

The Ministry decided to do a social impact study, Carrillo said.

“I said the best thing is to start milling again. That way farmers can plant more; we can review the prices. The first thing was to see if the mill could mill the rice and last year, we noticed that it could mill very high quality rice.”

So, this year, the farmers are getting approximately 33 % more for their paddy.

“That is another impact,” Carrillo said.

“Now the farmers are interested and want to increase their production. Before with the high prices of fertilizer, fuel, and those things. I spoke to some farmers in Big Falls, and some said they would increase their rice acreage. Some who were rice farmers before are now interested in restarting their rice production. All of this will greatly impact the way of living for the people in the South. They have something that belongs to them.”

Carrillo said last year there were 66 farmers and now that number has soared to 130 adding that quite a number of areas in Toledo are involved in rice production.

“We have a consultant over there studying the rice industry and seeing the challenges that the farmers have. Anything when it starts will have its challenges.”

Carrillo said that they are studying the problems the farmers have such as land preparation and seeds, to be able to help the farmers.

Carrillo said that apart from Premium and Grade A, BMDC also sells a smaller amount of what is termed as ‘broken rice’. That, he said, is in high demand for industrial horchata and for animal feed. That is sold for $25 for a 50-lb bag.

Carrillo said rice production is seasonal in the South because farmers depend a lot on rain. Planting is in June and harvesting in September and October.

For now, the plan is to market Big Falls rice countrywide. Later, Carrillo said, BMDC foresees producing enriched rice sometime in the future.