Dear Editor,
As a follow-up to my letter in SN dated 19 September 2009 (‘Better marketing strategies need to be adopted in the rice industry’), I would like to commend the President for reacting so quickly in offering $400 million to rice farmers.

Regardless of how the money is split there will be dissatisfaction among some people. If I were in charge of this money, I would distribute it as follows, giving justifications.

To cultivate one acre of paddy, a farmer would spend $60,000. He should harvest 30 bags of paddy at $2,500 per bag. I am assuming that $60,000 per month would be enough to sustain his family. I am considering 6 months for this crop.

With the above numbers the farmer should make $15,000 if he cultivates one acre. This would mean that he would have to be subsidized to the tune of $345,000. Discounting $15,000 per acre, at 25 acres the farmers would be making the equivalent of $360,000. So anyone who cultivates above 25 acres should not be offered any money.

I know for a fact that the Caribbean Rice Association along with the Rice Producers Association had done an inventory of farmers and the amount of land they own.  If by chance there is any money left over from the $400 million, then I would allocate this towards bringing down the cost of inputs for the next crop.
Yours faithfully,
Beni Sankar