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FM
Former Member

Rice farmers need help to avoid ‘bankruptcy, starvation’ – RPA

 

Friday, October 23 2015, Source

 

DEMANDS of rice farmers, represented by the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (RPA), were communicated to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, George Jarvis, earlier this week.  And RPA General Secretary, Dharamkumar Seeraj, has advanced proposals to assist rice farmers who are battling the lowest price for paddy in years now.

“The RPA is asking that the fact that rice farmers cannot withstand the current shock of low prices be recognised and for the Government to implement immediately some form of subsidy to avoid bankruptcy and starvation,” a letter signed by Seeraj to Jarvis said.

The plight of many rice farmers is owing to the fact that under the new administration, the Venezuela rice deal, which offered prices higher than world market prices for paddy, was scrapped by the President Nicolas Maduro’s government.


The letter, seen by Citizens’ Report also calls for the:
•    Immediate removal of all taxes and duties on fuel for the rice sector.
•    Immediate removal of all taxes and duties on all spare parts, machinery and other agricultural equipment.
•    Removal of all taxes on inputs.
•    The immediate implementation of a minimum export price for rice and paddy.
•    Convening of meetings with the Bankers Association to address the payment of loans by farmers and millers.
•    Recognition that rice farmers fully fund the operation of   GRDB and as such the GRDB must give due respect to farmers and represent the interest of farmers. They must not be any utterances that millers and farmers issues are private matters.
•    Reduction of export Commission on Paddy and Rice and to ensure same is passed on to farmers.
•    Recognition that GRDB by law has an important function to play in the rice industry for the benefit of all Stakeholders.

“We are prepared to meet with the Ministry of Agriculture at a mutually convenient time to further address these matters,” Seeraj said.

Notably, Jarvis had organized a stakeholders meeting for Wednesday (October 21). However, the RPA Head called attention to the fact that the notice for the meeting was too short to arrange for proper geographic representation RPA at the forum.


Seeraj also raised the concern that based on the list of invitees there seems to be a “misunderstanding” over who are stakeholders in the current crisis facing the rice industry.


Rice farmers over the past two months have been staging protest in rice producing regions, as well as outside the Ministry of the Presidency and the Ministry Agriculture, calling attention to the plight of an industry that was booming as recent as the first 2015 crop.


The protest actions have drawn no welcomed reaction from the A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government.


Last year was another record-breaking year for the rice industry. Production was recorded at 635,238 tonnes, of which 501,208 tonnes were exported. Production in the final crop of 2014 surpassed that of the first crop, which recorded just over 300,000 tonnes. Comparatively, the first crop of 2015 has been significantly better, which saw a production of over 550,000 tonnes of paddy, from which 360,000 tonnes of rice have been processed.

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Originally Posted by Tola:

Rice farmers are starving, yet they find millions for bandits.

Crooked like rass, this seems to be a common thing among some coolie people. Jagdeo is a good teacher.  

Tola, I am not really certain what you are saying here in this post. Also, regardless of the qualities of the previous leadearship in Guyana, the industry is facing serious problems because of the price of  paddy paid to farmers. This industry affects approx 30000 families and more if we look at the multiplier effect. Additionally, it is a large export earner. Most likely, the larger planters will still be making money even at the low prices, but the small planters cannot. The millers will always be making money, except in case of poor financial management because they set the price at which paddy is bought, have little or no competition or collude with the other millers in the area to set price. It is unconscionable that the government is not intervening to help the industry. It is political and economic folly for them to stay glued to the position that the industry is a private one so the government will not get involved. They did promise the planters better paddy price during the election campaign. One has to wonder about the difference in treatment by this government between the gold and rice industries, since they are both private industries, both large export earners, employ lots of Guyanese, lots of families depend on them. The government intervened to help the gold industry through tax concessions but has a hands off policy for rice.

Z

This is the redistribution of wealth, take from Indians and give to Blacks. It happened in Linden when the the then opposition rioted to ensure the subsidies to electricity there. Today turncoat Mitwah have no sympathy for his own but rather give to the white mouth Blacks in civil service rather than the hard farmers who drive the economy.  

FM
Originally Posted by Mitwah:

The rice farmers can turn to fish farming. There is a great demand for Tillapia Prawns and Shrimps. Rice farmers have never starved. Everyone in Guyana seems to know how to beg.

Mist, you really need to come here to Guyana, I will get some land for you and you can show us how to do it. Did I say anything about them starving? All we know is how to beg.

Z
Originally Posted by Zed:
Originally Posted by Mitwah:

The rice farmers can turn to fish farming. There is a great demand for Tillapia Prawns and Shrimps. Rice farmers have never starved. Everyone in Guyana seems to know how to beg.

Mist, you really need to come here to Guyana, I will get some land for you and you can show us how to do it. Did I say anything about them starving? All we know is how to beg.

Zeddy, can you show where I posted that you said something about starvation? I am beggar too; I beg Bhagwaan everyday to uplift Guyana.

Mitwah
Originally Posted by Mitwah:
Originally Posted by Zed:
Originally Posted by Mitwah:

The rice farmers can turn to fish farming. There is a great demand for Tillapia Prawns and Shrimps. Rice farmers have never starved. Everyone in Guyana seems to know how to beg.

Mist, you really need to come here to Guyana, I will get some land for you and you can show us how to do it. Did I say anything about them starving? All we know is how to beg.

Zeddy, can you show where I posted that you said something about starvation? I am beggar too; I beg Bhagwaan everyday to uplift Guyana.

Point taken. 

 

we still will have the short term adjustment problems that will need special consideration. Fish and  shrimp farming is often touted as an alternative to the sugar industry. I wonder why the government is considering the production of sugar at a great loss instead of taking up Tony Veira's idea of fish farming. Maybe they know something we do not know. 

 

All I know is that two friends came from abroad and got into fish farming in the mahaicony and lost their shirts. Their hair turned grayer than mine. Eventually, they returned to Canada broke.

 

Z
Originally Posted by Tola:

Rice farmers are starving, yet they find millions for bandits.

Crooked like rass, this seems to be a common thing among some coolie people. Jagdeo is a good teacher.  

You ah wan real skoanthole. You ah lie more than Jagdeo, Nagamootoo and Ramjattan combined.

FM
Originally Posted by Zed:
.. One has to wonder about the difference in treatment by this government between the gold and rice industries, since they are both private industries, both large export earners, employ lots of Guyanese, lots of families depend on them. The government intervened to help the gold industry through tax concessions but has a hands off policy for rice.

What is gold getting?  NOT guaranteed prices.  As prices drop many of the marginal miners have been driven out of the business.

 

Rice farmers not paid by millers, they then demand that the govt pays them.  They demand that the govt guarantees the prices that they receive.  They want guaranteed loans from the banks.

 

Small gold miners are NOT demanding this.

FM
Originally Posted by BGurd_See:

. white mouth Blacks in civil service rather than the hard farmers who drive the economy.  

druggie back in full force with his "black man lazy" nonsense.

 

Druggie this is why the PPP lost and will lose again.

FM

Caribny, Gold miners are receiving tax breaks on some of their inputs even though it is a private industry, something the present government holds is the reason why they will not get involved In helping the rice industry. This is what I was referring to. 

Z
Originally Posted by caribny:
Originally Posted by BGurd_See:

. white mouth Blacks in civil service rather than the hard farmers who drive the economy.  

druggie back in full force with his "black man lazy" nonsense.

 

Druggie this is why the PPP lost and will lose again.

Where did I mention that Blacks are lazy. The govt is favoring Blacks in civil service who consume tax dollars rather than the farmers who actually produce the tax dollars. 

FM
Originally Posted by Zed:

Caribny, Gold miners are receiving tax breaks on some of their inputs even though it is a private industry, something the present government holds is the reason why they will not get involved In helping the rice industry. This is what I was referring to. 

Zed,the rice farmers should ask for reduction on cost for

fertilizers,pesticides,machinery spare parts and fuel,this

can be done by reducing the taxes on these items,so their

cost of production can be reduced.

 

The farmers need to get out their book and pencil a

tabulate their cost if rice is not profitable,use the

land for other agricultural products.

 

I acquired a small business in 2005,we do work for

manufacturers and insurance companies on a

contractual basis,multi billion dollar industry when

the market crashed in 2008 income was affected due

to reduction in labor rates,i had to lay off employees,

diversify the business and cut cost to keep the door

open,in the USA i can't ask the govt to intervene,we

are on our own either you make your business profitable

or close the door.

Django
Last edited by Django
Originally Posted by Zed:

Caribny, Gold miners are receiving tax breaks on some of their inputs even though it is a private industry, something the present government holds is the reason why they will not get involved In helping the rice industry. This is what I was referring to. 

Rice farmers want more than tax concessions.  They want price guarantees.

FM
Originally Posted by BGurd_See:
Originally Posted by caribny:
Originally Posted by BGurd_See:

. white mouth Blacks in civil service rather than the hard farmers who drive the economy.  

druggie back in full force with his "black man lazy" nonsense.

 

Druggie this is why the PPP lost and will lose again.

Where did I mention that Blacks are lazy. The govt is favoring Blacks in civil service who consume tax dollars rather than the farmers who actually produce the tax dollars. 

The fact that you cannot see this shows how lazy you are.  Teachers are civil servants, as are nurses and cops. Now show me how Guyana can function without these people.

 

Why don't you endorse rice being treated like bauxite. 100% market forces, and if people starve, too bad.

FM

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