Amidst projections that Region Six will likely suffer a $1.4 billion loss this harvest due to a paddy bug infestation, the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) has cast blame on the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) for the state of affairs.
According to a press release yesterday from the CCCC, during a recent council meeting, members noted that from all indications, the region will suffer a 20% loss of its 58,200 acres of crops, which will be ravaged by paddy bugs. This, they noted, is equivalent to 500,000 bags of paddy, produced from an average yield of 44 bags per acre.
“At a time of declining business activities in Berbice, this [loss] is heart rending for the Berbice economy. Many reasons for this state of affairs were advanced and the GRDB was singled out for letting down the industry. They are collecting $87 on every bag of paddy harvested and should have provided more support to the farmers,” the Chamber stated.
The CCC posited that more research and biological methods of pest control need to be explored, and pointed out that the GRDB seemed to have underestimated the effects of the paddy bug infestation on the crops.
As such, they offered a number of recommendations for avoiding a similar occurrence in the future, including: GRDB having one aerial spraying per crop countrywide to target pests in abandoned acreages, dams and trenches; recommencing the wholesale purchase of fertilisers, which will be resold to farmers (as well as the GRDB or Ministry of Agriculture looking into the quality of fertilisers being imported); Government ensuring the Pesticide Board is equipped to monitor the levels of active ingredients in the pesticide imported to ensure it is up to standard; Government considering giving farmers duty free access to diesel for the next two crops, given the current state of the industry; and relevant authorities granting Nand Persaud & Company Ltd. permission to do aerial spraying, as the CCCC noted that their completed facility to accommodate aerial spraying has been lying dormant for close to four years.
Other matters
Also discussed at the council meeting were the matters of the newly instituted airport travel costs and the liberalization of the local telecommunications sector.
“Members of the Chamber expressed disapproval of the USD $35, implemented on travelers to and from Guyana. We are already paying $30 USD for airport/security. This additional amount will now make it close to USD $65 which we feel is quite prohibitive and should be reviewed as it will have quite a negative effect on our fledging Tourism Industry,” the CCCC stated.
The Chamber also said that the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GTT) received scathing criticism for the extremely poor internet service being delivered across Berbice, for which residents pay approximately $19,000 to access 10MB of data.
They noted that persons experience fluctuations in the service to the point that they no longer have access to the internet, and alleged that there are at least 20 interruptions per day.
“This is totally unacceptable and extremely frustrating. Local technicians are unable to help, since the issue seems to be one of too many people using limited bandwidth. We are at a loss at the state of affairs where liberalization of the sector is concerned and (are) calling on Minister Cathy Hughes to bring us up to date,” the release said.
“We need competition and new companies to provide internet services. GTT for its part, complained to us in a past meeting of the prohibitive 45% income tax on their operations, which they claim is adversely impacting on their ability to move at the pace they would like to. The consumer in the meanwhile is paying for a service they are not getting,” they complained.
