Over $19B paid to rice farmers this year

Paddy earnings for the year are in excess of $23.5 billion with over $19 billion already paid to farmers, Deputy General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board Ricky (GRDB) Ricky Ramraj has said.

And pressure is being applied to millers to address their inability to pay farmers in a timely fashion and to ensure that the rest of the money is paid by the commencement of the second crop harvest, which is to begin late July early August.

Ramraj told Stabroek News that the recent protests in Essequibo were politically motivated. However, he did note that delayed payment by