In an effort to boost the rice industry in Region Two, Government is mulling a 35 per cent reduction in ferry costs for millers, among other initiatives, on the condition that savings realised must be passed on to the farmers who yesterday complained about paddy grading and prices.
The announcement of the transportation ease was made by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha when he met separately with farmers and millers to listen to their concerns. According to a Ministry of Agriculture release yesterday, the meetings were a result of requests by farmers, millers, and regional officials from Region Two for government to assist with issues faced in the rice sector on the Essequibo Coast
During the meetings, Mustapha informed both farmers and millers that government was prepared to offer concessions that could see farmers benefiting from improved prices for their paddy.
“I came here today with the intention of working together with you because I heard farmers here were facing some issues with the industry. I know you are not pleased with the prices you are receiving for paddy in Essequibo. After this meeting, I’ll be meeting with the millers. I plan to extend to them the same assistance we are giving to Leguan and Wakenaam where we’ll reduce the cost of the ferry service by 35% along with providing a standard ferry to take paddy from Essequibo to Parika, but the reduction in price has to filter down to the farmers,” Mustapha said.
Kaydor Persaud, a rice farmer from Affiance, said that farmers were not satisfied with the prices they are currently receiving for their paddy.
“I think that the paddy price is a bit too low and Honourable Minister, I think you can do something about it. We are seeing paddy prices are better in other Regions. So what we are asking for is an intervention for you to see how something can be done. We are not satisfied with the price and we are not satisfied with the grading system. The system of grading should really be looked at. Another thing Minister, we heard, I don’t know if it is correct, but there was a drop in rates for the boat to transport paddy from different areas for farmers. We are asking if you can do the same for us. There is also an issue with lands where we are getting leases for lands when we should be getting titles and we are not satisfied with it. We are asking for you to look into it and help us,” Persaud said.
Mustapha responded by reminding that during his last outreach to the Region, he had offered farmers the opportunity to identify persons to undergo training by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and be employed as graders. He acknowledged that there was some level of mistrust between millers and farmers and noted that his ministry was exploring options to ensure farmers and millers are both treated fairly during the grading process.
The minister also informed the farmers that drying floors will be constructed in the region and encouraged them to utilise these facilities. “We have funds in the budget to construct drying floors in the Region. I’ve asked our officers from GRDB to meet with you and discuss where these drying floors will be. I don’t want farmers to think that these facilities will be built and only one person will benefit. When we do something the entire farming community must benefit. I know there is a stigma attached to drying floors across the country. People prefer drying their paddy on the road rather than going to a drying floor facility. This is why we have to work and discuss with the farmers on the best locations for these investments.”
Other farmers raised issues with paddy bug infestation and the minister has this to say, “Last year when I came I said that we would be procuring boom-sprayers to assist with paddy bugs. From this year’s budget, we’ll be purchasing five boom-sprayers for Essequibo. By June we should have them and they will be sent here so that the farmers can have some relief. Farmers that have issues with paddy bugs, I’ve already instructed GRDB to help the farmers with chemicals and additional extension services. Our officers will be going around to different areas to conduct assessments and we will be giving each farmer one bag of seed paddy for every acre that was damaged,”
During the meeting with the millers, president of the Guyana Rice Exporters and Millers Association (GREMA), Rajindra Persaud said that millers have expressed concerns with the overall costs attached to transporting their finished products to ports in the city.
“From my experience speaking with millers in the Region, their big concern is transporting finished products to Georgetown especially with the cost of the ferry and the restriction at the Demerara Harbour Bridge. There is a weight limit at the bridge so normally when a truck leaves Essequibo they have to discharge at West Demerara, take off some of the load, cross the bridge, discharge that load, cross back over the bridge, load the remaining stuff and then proceed to the wharf. It’s very tedious and expensive,” Persaud stated.
He also opined that there needs to be a cultural shift in terms of rice cultivation in the Region. He suggested that if farmers could irrigate their fields in a shorter time to facilitate block planting as is done in Region Six, within six weeks the entire area can be cultivated and the bugs would not be able to move from field to field.
Meanwhile, Tanish Jagmohan of Caricom Rice Mills contended that the price being offered to farmers is fair when all the levels of the production chain were factored in.
“The prices we are offering; we did a lot of calculations. Looking at cost of production at an hourly basis and it’s a fair price. We are encountering issues like green and damage and so on and it affects our overall profit margin. Our prices, to me, are very competitive compared to the prices we are getting overseas. We’ve gone up $100 per bag yet the quality remains the same,” Jagmohan explained.
Mustapha then told the millers that he is prepared to extend concessions to farmers and millers in the Region with the expectation that the benefit would be passed on to the farmers.
“As it stands now, I think the factor that determines the prices in Region Two is transportation. I have a proposal. We can look at the consideration of the ferry. In the islands, we were able to give special concessions to the farmers there and I want to extend the same concession to the farmers and millers on the Essequibo Coast. We’ll reduce the cost of the ferry by 35 per cent and we will have a special ferry to transport the cargo so you won’t have to wait on the passenger ferry. If you can add the savings to what is offered to the farmers’ price we would be willing to put that in place,” the minister offered.
In response to the minister’s proposal, one miller said that the idea was a good one but that the majority of their product transported via the ferry service was rice and not paddy. He pointed out that if farmers were able to deliver better quality paddy, then millers would be able to offer better prices since they were prepared to do so but the rain and high instances of paddy bug infestation had adversely affected the quality of the last crop.
The millers subsequently agreed to meet and discuss the Minister’s proposal and respond within the next few days.
During the day’s proceedings, Mustapha also distributed fertilizers and other chemicals to farmers who had suffered losses as a result of flooding and paddy bug infestation, the release added.
