The Essequibo Paddy Farmers Association (EPFA) – which aims to rival the RPA – has drafted a constitution and according to Chairman Naichram (one name only) it will be seeking legal advice on the registration process.
The EPFA chairman stated that “this week we are talking to lawyers and working out what needs to be done then hopefully by next week we can be registered by the relevant authorities and the real work can begin.”
Naichram stated that “there are several problems that the rice farmers are facing, that the rice sector is facing and it always goes back to square one”. He said that at this point farmers have to take some of the responsibility and must agitate with the government for their best interest to be looked at. He said that after the rice deal under the PetroCaribe Agreement was signed last week, the association was hoping for movement on paddy payments however the process has been too slow thus far. Naichram stated that the association was in its beginning phase and as a result they were trying to first work out strategies that they hoped to implement. He said that “right now the government is relying too much on the Venezuelan market and the PetroCaribe has been signed but nothing happening yet. It is taking too long”. He said that years after, the government should be more inclined to ensure the backlog of paddy payments do not occur. The EPFA chairman said that “so many issues need to be addressed and Guyana needs to get into other markets so that there is this continuous movement of rice. We can’t be waiting for Venezuela every time and then farmers aren’t being paid.” Essequibo farmers have been in a long-running dispute with millers over the quality of rice and weights. Naichram stated that “we are going to take like three or so bags of the lowest quality paddy and get it milled…then measure the weight of the good rice, measure the weight of the broken rice and the bran”. He said that one of the most chronic issues that rice farmers are facing is that the millers have all the grading authority. “When we know what the weights of the by-products are then we will be in a better position to come to the table and meet with all the relevant people like millers and the government.”
The chairman told Stabroek News that “the Venezuela issue can easily be used to say that things aren’t happening because of it but the millers are still ripping off farmers and payments are still late”. He added that “rice is a business and you have to have a working capital to do your business and when the government makes excuses for millers that isn’t good.”
“Farmers got to go to the bank and ask for loans to start the next crop and they are waiting on payments so the mills have to do the same instead of buying paddy for low prices and not paying for months. millers need to do what we are doing and go to the bank ask for overdraft,” Naichram stated. He noted that the EPFA will need to collectively analyze the various issues faced by farmers stating that “we have to train our own. We can’t rely on the RPA (Rice Producers Association) and the GRDB (Guyana Rice Development Board) anymore…”
Naichram said that the issue was not a politically motivated one and that it was the aim of the EPFA to “just look out for the farmers and speak on behalf of the working farmers, letting the millers know that ripping us off isn’t okay and letting the government know that everything isn’t just fine because the RPA doesn’t represent all of us.”
Naichram stated that the association plans to speak to government and the opposition in regards to a reviewing the Factory Act. However members of both the government and the opposition have stated that to move amendments may be seen as attempting to further regulate a commodity.
The EPFA is planning to resume its protesting on Friday after a possible meeting with the Minister of Agriculture this week to discuss the newly formed association’s intentions and expectations moving forward.
