Feeling the squeeze from low paddy prices, farmers in Leguan have started scaling back their cultivation.
Veteran rice farmer Mohammed Ramzan, who has been involved the industry for more than six decades, told Stabroek News that because of the current state of the industry, he has scaled down his operation by more than 20 acres within the last three crops. “Rice is done with. It can’t pay. Me had 63 acres but me can’t plant it all because it can’t pay. I had to leave back 20 acres,” Ramzan explained.
Ramzan along with several rice farmers spoke with this newspaper at this residence on Tuesday, when they discussed the current problems facing the industry, which they have dubbed burdensome.
“Rice is hard in Leguan here and we