Dear Editor,
Please permit me space to respond to Mr Nowrang Persaud’s letter dated October 30, 2014 captioned, ‘Diminishing output from private cane farmers is disturbing.’
Firstly, Mr Nowrang Persaud, himself being a cane farmer for 20 odd years, and GuySuCo’s former Human Resource Director, should have known how the National Cane Farming Committee (NCFC) functions, and of the benefits farmers are receiving.
For his information the following should be noted:-
- Presently the NCFC has a revolving fund to assist small farmers.
- Farmers (he included) benefited from a 50% reduction in their cost of fertilizer, which was negotiated for by NCFC.
- His claim that “repeated attempts to get some clarifications from the Chairman of the NCFC were fruitless” is baseless, because he was advised to refer to the NCFC Act Chapter 69:04, and to the estate’s Liaison Committee for clarification of his issues.
- He acknowledged his attendance at the NCFC meeting at which I presided, and could have gotten any information he desired. I repeatedly enquired from him whether there were any comments, clarifications or issues he had encountered that required addressing by the committee, and he replied “no” in the presence of all the members and other cane farmers who attended.
- The seventeen issues listed on the action sheet, were issues highlighted at the previous NCFC meeting, and are summaries for members of the committee to address, give updates on and provide clarifications at the meeting on the progress of work.
- Mr Persaud mentioned farmers’ diminishing output, discontinuation, selling off, etc; he is probably speaking on his own behalf, because more lands were leased by the government to farmers at Wales, Uitvlugt, Albion and Skeldon locations.
Finally, I will continue to ensure that Mr Persaud receives a copy of the NCFC minutes, to keep him informed about what the NCFC is achieving.
It seems as if Mr Persaud has just awakened from a deep slumber, because he mentioned that he had attended occasional meetings whose name he didn’t even seem to know – those are the Cane Farmers Liaison Committee meetings, from which farmers were elected to represent their colleagues from that location. He stopped attending those meetings claiming that they are a waste of his precious time; now he seems to have renewed interest.
Mr Persaud was surprised by the preponderance of “officials.” He should familiarize himself with the NCFC Act, Cap 69:04, and just in case he still does not get it, those ex-officios (as he called them) are there for a special purpose (apart from abiding with the Act) – to assist, and guide farmers, by firstly making themselves available in one room with the farmers, for the farmers.
Yours faithfully,
Roy Hanoman
Chairman
National Cane Farming Committee (NCFC)
