Dear Editor,
For the greater part of my life, farming has been a glorious occupation for me and my family. We till the soil with hard labour; engage in back-breaking efforts to put food on the family table; help to feed non-producers; earn foreign exchange for the nation; and keep the wheels of the economy turning. I therefore consider myself a true patriot of my country with bona fide rights to speak out about what is going wrong on issues that have to do with my general welfare, and moreso my daily bread. Our task runs from sunrise to sundown – continuously.
There is bliss, beauty and fulfilment in rice production, and I have been doing it since I was 18 years of age. I still continue to do it successfully at age 75. My humble position is that of a very good producer. With a keen interest in doing well in the industry I was one of six persons selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and USAID to go to India and the Philippines to see and understudy water users associations there. We went on this mission in July of 1996. On my return I became a resource person for my group.
The purpose of water users associations (WUA) is self-administration in the various farming communities. But gradually this grand achievement has been compromised in collusion with some WUA management board members and some shameless local contractors. Persons of questionable character are allowed to sign payment certificates, and money often is conducive to a quick signature.
The rice farmers of this country have been performing with incredible results, through it is not compulsory for then to invest and produce. They do it for employment, to generate the means to economic sustenance and to be independent in order to have a better life.
We are all now witness to the end of most of the better days of the rice industry. We have already set sail in a sea of misery, that brought GuySuCo tumbling down the economic ladder. All the pitfalls that are responsible for GuySuCo’s desolate journey of no return are present in the rice industry. Laxity in overall administration, recurring lack of oversight in field operations and very poor marketing strategies are some of the shortcomings which have triggered a blinking red light in this industry.
For two crops in a row, there has been surplus rice and paddy in the system, all because there are no markets to sell same, and wherever markets exist, the price offered is often too low. So we are in a fix – a real dilemma. The question is, to produce or not to produce. Because of this state of affairs the millers will now have a double monopoly over the poor farmers.
I strongly recommend that special efforts be made to establish a rice marketing agency staffed with highly skilled personnel in marketing. Their assignment must always be to explore rice markets overseas. The Minister of Agriculture has brilliant able-bodied and experienced individuals to help set up such a badly needed agency. These men with track records are Messrs Jagnarine Singh, Kuldip Ragnauth, Permaul, Nigel Dharamlall and Dharamkumar Seeraj.
Yours faithfully,
Ganga Persaud