The Essequibo Paddy Farmers Association yesterday staged a protest to highlight the plight of rice farmers in Essequibo.
This is the second protest by the association in an effort to have farmers’ challenges addressed by either President Donald Ramotar or Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy.
The farmers marched from the Anna Regina High Bridge Square to the New Market in Cotton Field where a rally was held.
Speaking to those gathered, Chairman of the Essequibo Paddy Farmers Association Naith Ram said that if their voices are not heard, they will continue to protest and will do so until they are completely satisfied with the outcome.
Ram stated that rice farmers are challenged by low payments for their paddy from millers, delayed payments and poor drainage and irrigation.
“We will not stop until we are heard,” he said.
The day before the protest he had explained that farmers were receiving about $4,000 for a bag of paddy last year, while $3,100 is the highest price being offered this year.
He had also said that at the end of the 2013 rice crop, some 120,000 tonnes of paddy was still in the system and had not been marketed. This, he stressed, has contributed to a glut in the market and was being used to keep the price being offered the farmers down.
Ram had also pointed out that Essequibo paddy farmers were promised retroactive payment for paddy lost to a bug infestation last year but to date some farmers have not seen a cent of it.
Ram, who is also an AFC Councillor, yesterday pointed to the need for subsidies for fertilisers and fuel to sustain their rice farms.
Several women joined the protest. One of them told Stabroek News that she is being affected since she is the wife of a rice farmer. “If they think we gon stop now, we ain’t stopping,” she said. “Now all de woman them come out fuh talk too. We can’t continue living with this. Let the President or the Agriculture Minister come down here now and talk to we or we ain’t gon stop.”
An estimated $60 million is still owed by millers and according to Ram, rice farmers are frustrated.
