– move away from dependence on millers
General Secretary of the Rice Producers Association (RPA) Dharamkumar Seeraj has urged Essequibo Coast rice farmers to look towards drying and storing their paddy for export as this will allow them to move away from dependence on millers.
Seeraj was speaking at a meeting held on Monday with rice farmers along the Essequibo Coast, to discuss problems facing them with regard to payment for their paddy and other problems in buying, storage, transportation and maintaining of dams. Also present at the meeting was General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Jagnarine Singh.
As regards payment, Seeraj told farmers, “the contract with Venezuela was the best thing that happened.” He said some big farmers have made arrangements with millers on part payment. “A part payment is when your paddy goes in and you get a part of your money. This is what Hack [rice mill] is doing,” he said. He also added that that arrangement is not too bad, unlike what the Mahaicony Rice Mill is doing. This company buys paddy at a high price and makes part payment after; it offers an incentive to farmers.
Seeraj said the Rice Factory Act caters for farmers to get payment within 42 days. He added that for the amount outstanding after 42 days, farmers can demand two per cent interest and the prime lending rate at the commercial banks. He said this was discussed with the board of directors of GRDB.
Seeraj encouraged farmers to think more about drying and storage to export, as this will empower them. He added that it would create more competition within the system. He advised farmers to be competitive, adding that high price means high quality.
Seeraj advised farmers to keep abreast of times. He said that in order to keep up to date with what is going on and the price for rice on the world market, they could get online, type in the word ‘rice’ and all the information on rice around the world and the price it is going for, appears. He added that this system is there so everyone can see the price for rice now.
Singh also touted the Venezuela deal as a good one. He said it was open to every miller and farmer this crop. He added that about 1.5 million bags of paddy were produced last crop and about 50,000 tonnes of rice and 20,000 tonnes of paddy will be exported from Guyana. He said he spoke to Venezuelans two weeks ago and has to give 30 days notice before the arrival of any vessel in the country. Singh told farmers that within a week he will know who is buying and shipping where and the proposed amounts that the mills will be shipping out of the country. He added that he would publish this information in the newspapers.
Meanwhile, Singh commented that Mahaicony Rice Mills was not the only defaulting mill. He said too that his office would help farmers prepare invoices to give to the millers. He told farmers that it would cost nothing to give the millers an invoice at the end of 24 days.
He added that officers of the GRDB went into Mahaicony Rice Mills to check the books and discuss payment. He said he personally went with an accountant to the head office and discovered that it would take at least a month to go through the records. However, he told farmers that Mahaicony Rice Mills officials had promised to start making payments from yesterday and that by tomorrow they will start paying the other regions.
One farmer complained that Caricom Rice Mill in Anna Regina was buying paddy at a very slow rate so as to frustrate the farmers. Singh promised to talk to the manager there. He said that buying, drying and storage at Caricom was a little better.
The same farmer also asked Seeraj about the proper maintenance of the dams and said that the Water Users Association (WUA) was not functioning effectively. Seeraj replied that the WUA is the farmers’ association and it is up to the farmers to see that it runs well. He added in Region 3, 4, 5 and 6 there were some dams that tractors cannot traverse. He told the farmers that the weather is affecting the progress on maintaining and repairing these dams. He also told the farmers that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority had some machinery it was lending to the farmers to use to do their work. “You just have to put in your fuel and pay the operator,” he said.
Farmers complained that the regional administration’s machinery was not working. One farmer said that the bulldozer was only three years old and it was not working well. “They took it to do some work and now we need it to do our work and it is broken,” he said. Another farmer said that when the machine was not working the operator was still getting a salary. Seeraj replied that if the operator is not working then he should be sent home until the machine is up and running.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News spoke to some farmers from the northern side of the Essequibo Coast and they said that Hack Mill in Better Hope had told them that it would start making payments to farmers on Friday. However, when contacted, Hack Mill officials refused to comment on this.
