Dear Editor,
On Tuesday, March 24, I decided to go down on the ground to get a first-hand look at the rice fields and hear complaints from farmers, and the reasons they are suffering at this time. I went to the southern side of the Essequibo Coast first, where I met with a number of farmers at one of the main buying centres at Golden Fleece. The first thing which caught my eye was the long line of tractors, trailers and lorries loaded with paddy waiting to be discharged.
The farmers told me that they had been there overnight awaiting the discharge of their paddy, and when I asked them why it was taking so long they told me it was because the miller had dry paddy from the previous crop in the silo and storage bonds, and he was now making space to take in this crop’s paddy. They said that this miller was buying their paddy at a good price, although not the best, which should have been $4,000 a bag.
I asked them what the best prices being offered by this miller were, and they told me $2,400 a bag.
The highest price being offered for Extra A is $3,000, but that grade is hard to achieve because of the damaged grains caused by paddy bugs. I then asked them if they have more paddy in the field to reap, and they said that because of the delayed discharge at the mill the combine is left idle awaiting their trucks and trailers.
I asked them when they expected to be paid for this crop’s paddy, and they shook their heads and hands indicating uncertainty.
I then left for the southern side of the coast, and on my way I saw another line of lorries and trailers on the public road at Affiance. I had a brief chat with these farmers, who told me the same sad story. I asked them what the best price was and they answered $3,000,which is hard to get; the lowest price is $400 because of the damaged grains and the quality of the paddy. I asked them what is the price for 100lbs domestic white rice, and they said that it had gone up 100 per cent in the shop and at some millers.
I decided to go further to the northern side, and on my way passing the Jib, I saw a longer line with lorries and trailers on the public road. I did not stop here to interact with the farmers because I knew it would be the same story. I saw one of my colleagues with whom I used to work as a rice extension officer, and who is one of the most hard-working officers in the field.
I recognized he had a bug net on his motorcycle and that he was going to sweep for paddy bugs in the field. He told me that he missed me because we were the only hard-working extension officers working to minimize the bugs.
He further said that he is retired and is now on contract, but will soon leave the job because he is being harassed by rice farmers as if he is the cause of the rice industry going downhill.
He was also going to invite farmers for a meeting at the RPA bond, which will be addressed by the General Secretary of the Rice Producers Association and the General Manager of Guyana Rice Development Board. At Sparta, Danielstown and Lima, I met with farmers who complained bitterly about how their entire field of paddy had been lost because the kokers were clogged up with mud and there was no drainage.
Some of them lost their paddy because the dams were impassable, with big potholes filled with water, and their trailers capsized with all their paddy in the trenches.
They claimed that the pumps at the sea defences had no fuel to help pump the water out from the trenches to reduce the level so their fields could get drainage. Combines tried to reap whatever was left standing in the fields, but 95 per cent was lost. Rice farmers claimed that this is the worst time in their lives in terms of cultivating and reaping paddy.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan