Govt providing assistance to Essequibo rice farmers

By Indrawattie Natram –

Rice farmers whose crops were damaged by paddy bugs will get some form of assistance to compensate for the low prices they are receiving. This assurance was given during a meeting held by government in collaboration with the Rice Producers’ Association (RPA) and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB).
Officials told a meeting in Essequibo on Sunday that the major stakeholders are in the process of analysing the situation.
The Agriculture Ministry, along with the RPA, the GRDB and the regional authorities, is working with farmers and millers in addressing their challenges. Some of the challenges noted are: slow intake at the rice mills, unavailability of combines and trucks, unavailability of drying and storage facilities, damage caused by paddy bugs and low prices offered for paddy.
Minister within the Agriculture Ministry Alli Baksh, speaking at the first farmers’ meeting at Hampton Court mill, told farmers that the government, through the various stakeholders, is willing to help farmers, since his ministry has recognised the damage caused by the bug infestation.

Baksh said the government is committed to offering assistance in an effort to see farmers go back into their fields. He noted that rice cultivation is the main economic activity in Region Two and the area is dominated by farmers, hence the industry needs to be revived so that farmers can sustain their livelihoods. Baksh said officers have been dispatched to various areas to assess the situation and provide technical assistance and advice to farmers. He also noted that the rice industry is nevertheless much better off than previous years.
Answer to farmers’ plight
RPA General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj told farmers that support will be given in whatever form needed to ensure farmers go back to their fields. Seeraj indicated assistance will be given to farmers who were severely affected by the infestation. He added that forms will be available at the GRDB to those farmers whose paddy received C, D, and E grades.
He said the RPA in its quest to continually represent farmers, has devised a form that will serve as an analytical tool to assist farmers. Seeraj disclosed that the Agriculture Ministry’s budget allocation, once approved, has Gy$500 million in farmers’ relief funds. He outlined that further assistance can be made available to farmers, once the monies are available.