Essequibo rice miller and estate owner, Tamesh Jagmohan, is seeking to clear the air concerning allegations made against him and his company by several rice farmers in Essequibo.
In a release yesterday, Jagmohan referenced what he described as a “series of slanderous and erroneous claims” purportedly being made in sections of the media by a small group of farmers who are claiming that they are being forced off lands belonging to him where they currently cultivate rice. Further, these attacks are alleged to be orchestrated by an unnamed distant relative.
“We have been castigated and vilified as the all-consuming, big establishment which is unfairly pressuring small farmers eking out a livelihood. The group has portrayed themselves as the victims and our company and its principals as the villains.”
The businessman emphasised that his company’s intention is not to remove the farmers from lands which he legally owns.
According to the release, the farmers occupying the lands in question have not been paying their rent. The company had requested from the Rice Assessment Committee an increase in rent of $7,500 per acre, per crop. However, instead it was granted an amount of $4,650. This it says, has affected its budget and financial obligations. Also, the farmers still refuse to pay their rent while some are sub-letting the lands for $30,000-plus per acre, making a hefty profit and still refusing to fulfil their obligations to the company. This begs the question, “How can this be considered fair?”
The company insists that it has made every effort to reach out to these individuals with the hope of correcting this “injustice,” but to no avail. And to make matters worse, the rice farmers working its lands are also refusing to sell the paddy to the company’s mills. It explained that it was “heavily indebted” to the local banking institutions for the acquisition of these lands from the previous owner and therefore the continued refusal by the farmers to honour their financial obligations is putting serious strain on the finances of the company.
The farmers have also been encouraged to visit the company so as to update its register of who is occupying which portion of lands as there are instances where original tenants have passed away and their relatives have taken over working the lands. This too, it says, has also been met with intransigence.
The company says that it is “perplexed” by the attacks and innuendos reported to government officials by this small group, thus forcing them to intervene in what is a private arrangement between the lawful owner of these lands and those who are tenants.
“We use this opportunity to implore the government officials who have now been drawn in to this issue, to explain to the group their legal obligations to our company as outlined in the laws of Guyana. We do hope that good sense prevails and our company reaffirms our commitment to engage these farmers as time is of the essence,” the release also stated.
