Mahaicony Rice Mill (MRM) continues to owe farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture will be moving to pursue payments for those affected and they should be able to access some funds by next week.
Farmers from Region Two are collectively owed close to $29M by the company and its agents, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported. Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud met with farmers yesterday and told them that by next week, they will be able to access some amount of finances. Moreover, the farmers will be authorising the Rice Producers’ Association (RPA) to pursue Arnold Sankar from MRM to recoup the money, which will be used to reimburse the Association as well as recover the balance owed to them, GINA reported.
It said that in addition, two assets, one at Vilvoorden, Region Two and the other at Black Bush Polder, Region Six that were pledged by MRM to a financial institution are now the subject of court action as a result of failure to service that debt. “We await the court’s deliberations and I do hope that it deals with this matter with some level of expediency in this regard,” Persaud was quoted as saying.
Other actions taken against the company includes the denial of a licence to purchase or export rice and the acquisition of a court injunction, barring its major player from leaving the country, GINA said.
“From the financial institution and GRDB standpoint, we have exhausted all the legal options in this regard and we are also looking at ways through which we can assist affected farmers…the Mahaicony Rice Mill has made itself unfit to do business with and is harmful to the rice trade in this country,” Persaud was quoted as saying.
He said that the Ministry through the RPA and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has been engaging the farmers over the last seven to eight months with the hope that the MRM would have cleared its debt but the company is not living up to its commitment and is mistreating farmers and disrespecting the rice industry as a whole.
Persaud, according to GINA, also explained that there is no legal obligation from the government or the RPA to make this intervention but government is committed to make representation on behalf of farmers especially since the judiciary is not moving as swiftly as it should to address this matter.
Government recently moved to Parliament to toughen laws that seek to protect the rights of farmers in the rice industry, GINA said.
RPA General Secretary, Dharamkumar Seeraj reminded the farmers that the rice industry is the only sub-sector within the agriculture sector that has received so much support over the years and said that, “we are going into debt to pay off someone else’s debt to farmers,” according to GINA.
Farmers also expressed concerns with regards to the process of grading paddy for moisture content and Persaud called on the GRDB to recruit more temporary workers to facilitate a much needed 24-hour shift system to ensure that farmers are not ripped off, the report said.
