Tuesday’s Economic Corner
Over view:
Last week’s column “Agriculture Gone Bad” created both controversy and solutions. The focus was on Region 5 and the plight of the rice farmers. Even though the Chairman of the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA) blasted me as making up facts, the Minister knew it was true and took a special delegation to the region the next day. It is our hope that the Minister holds to his word and gets the job done and not change his portfolio to Minister of Defence. There is only so much the farmers will listen to in terms of excuses and defending incompetence. We need an agricultural policy based on common sense and the realities of Guyana’s geography and climate change.
Many of the farmers in Region 5 are in court with cases against the MMA. I will take up the request by the Chairman to visit him. Drainage in areas such as Cotton Tree is in top condition where known supporters of the ruling party operate while others are suffering. The following gives a pictorial view of the drainage issues affecting the rice farmers. I personally took these pictures on my visit.
This Canal FD21 is owned by MMA – as you can see it is being properly maintained and benefits only those concerned.
Canal SC58 has never been maintained – as you can see it is completely blocked, most of the rice fields around this canal have been repossessed by the MMA and have not been in use since.
Canal SC56 has been cleaned but MMA has not maintained it resulting in it being blocked again.
Canal FD19 – the bottom half of this canal has been cleaned leaving the top not cleaned.
Farmers Conflict
We need to create a systematic approach to agriculture across the nation. There is no national plan for how agriculture will become a successful industry. For example just in Region 5, there is a conflict with the rice farmers and cash crop farmers. Some people are allowed to plant on the banks of the reserve and then petition the MMA not to flood the rice farms because their cash crops will be flooded out. This creates conflicts with the rice farmers’ needs.
Consistency in Planting:
Certain areas should be designated as farming communities. We must create areas where we can realize economies of scale. For example one community should plant just cabbage and another pepper. This will help reduce many logistical issues such as technical training, shipping, and supply. We can then measure our ability to deliver to the market in a consistent way.
A few years ago when we had set up the Export facility that the government refused to allow us to operate, we had obtained orders for certain produce from Guyana. One of the major issues we would have had to overcome was consistency. The buyers required us to deliver the same produce at the same quantity and quality every single time. One of the constraints was that we did not have any one farmer planting in bulk and the logistics cost in tracking down the same product in various communities was high. Development of a competitive agricultural plan is needed and we are ready to help the ministry create a better programme for our all our farmers without prejudice.
Conclusion:
I challenge the Minister of Agriculture to stop simply defending his programmes and look at the real issues affecting the farmers. The waste of our taxpayer’s dollars at pumps and sluices that do not work and drainage that is not maintained while money is paid out is criminal.
Systematic, competitive and consistent agricultural development is crucial for our nation’s success. This is one way we can see our farming communities becoming a real industry and our people benefiting financially from their hard work. A few contractors taking our hard earned money because of incompetence in leadership is unacceptable. Until next time “Roop”
Reply to Peter.ramsaroop@gmail.com