-will recommence, says Agriculture Minister
Mahaicony Rice Limited (MRL) has been winding down its activities locally with a recent reduction in staff and halting of operations at its Black Bush Polder (BBP), Blairmont and Vilvoorden offices.
This has caused alarm among farmers countrywide who are owed more than $240 million for paddy they would have supplied to MRL during the first crop this year. Farmers from BBP, Berbice and Essequibo told Stabroek News yesterday that they are yet to hear anything about payments from MRL.
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, during brief correspondence with this newspaper yesterday afternoon, said that formal discussions on the future of MRL are expected to start soon. He further gave the assurance that operations will recommence at the three MRL offices.
Stakeholders within the rice industry have also said that MRL has indicated that it will not be buying paddy this crop (the second). MRL is the largest miller and over the years has bought a significant percentage of paddy produced every crop.
When questioned about this, the Agriculture Minister said that MRL has made no such indication.
“The principal [of the company] has indicated its continued operations in Guyana,” Persaud wrote.
Persaud did not respond to questions about the sort of impact MRL’s closure would have on the industry and whether his ministry was prepared for such a possibility.
Just last week MRL General Manager Taramatie Ghani indicated that her company does not wish to enter into discussions with “anyone or the government” and will clear its debts and close operations if there is no other option.
Ghani said too that the issue of paying farmers could have been solved a while ago but the Rice Producers’ Assoication (RPA), according to her, has been dealing with the matter “politically.”
In recent years MRL has become infamous for delaying payments to farmers. To date neither Ghani nor any other MRL official has explained just why the company has been unable to keep up with payments. It is unclear whether a steadily declining financial status may be the cause.
Several efforts made yesterday to contact Ghani for a comment on the company’s winding down of operations were futile.
This newspaper understands that operations had ceased at the Vilvoorden, Essequibo office and MRL has sent home about 90 per cent of its employees there. While operations have also ceased in BPP and Blairmont, it is not clear just how many employees have been affected.
Meanwhile, General Secretary of the RPA Dharamkumar Seeraj also said that MRL has given no indication that it will not be buying paddy this crop. However, he pointed out that MRL should have already started buying paddy for the current crop.
“We’d asked for MRL to give an indication [about whether or not they would be buying paddy] through the rice board but so far we have heard nothing,” Seeraj told Stabroek News yesterday.
He further said that some time last week he’d learnt that MRL was closing its operation at Vilvoorden. The Essequibo office, Seeraj said, had sent home most of its employees until they are ready to resume operations again. MRL, the RPA General Secretary said, owed their employees as well.
With the situation as it is, that is MRL owing between 200 and 300 farmers, many will not take their paddy to the company. Seeraj had previously said that the closure of MRL would have a profound impact on the industry but the company, according to him, was not indispensible.
MRL is currently being audited by the Ministry of Agriculture and Persaud has since announced that all is being done to ensure that farmers will be paid.
Berbice farmer Chandradat Maharam said that MRL owes him just over $1 million. Like many other farmers, Maharam took a loan to finance his first crop this year and is now struggling to repay the bank.
“When me tek that loan me put me tractor down as security and if me can’t pay them back then dem going to take that tractor and me does depend bad, bad pon that thing,” Maharam said.
Many other farmers face similar situations. One BBP farmer, who declined to have his name published, said that MRL owes him $1.3 million and he in turn owes a company for more than 80 bags of fertilizers which cost $5,300 each.
“If this company going to close then me frighten that we not going to get we money,” the BBP farmer said.
