Scores of disgruntled rice farmers who showed up yesterday at a meeting in Region Two with the Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, have called for the immediate reduction in the price of fertilizer and the rehabilitation of several dams along the Essequibo coast.
The Minister of Agriculture along with a team from his ministry, visited the region and conducted three meetings. The first meeting was held at the Guyana Rice Producers Association seed drying facility at Anna Regina.
During the meeting, the farmers were very vocal in letting the officials know that they could not afford the high prices currently being charged for fertilisers by private individuals. They told the minister that the rice industry is already struggling and that the high cost of fertilizer would cripple the industry.