Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday told an Essequibo outreach that the Government is currently examining ways to establish a fertiliser plant within the next five years to ensure affordable fertilisers for rice farmers.
He was at the time speaking to rice farmers at a meeting held in the auditorium of the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School.
Jagdeo acknowledged that the cost of living has risen and as such the government has set aside $5 billion dollars to deal with this situation. He noted that government may not be able to directly help in getting the best price for paddy but at least it can help to reduce the costs to the industry.
He pointed out that with the proposed gas-to-energy project an ammonia plant will be established and will produce fertilisers at a lower cost for rice farmers.
“The gas-to-energy plant will bring in the gas, we will probably have same amount in the 50 million cubic [feet] per day to do a small ammonia plant but we have the pipeline with the size to bring in 130 million cubic [feet] per day… When the rest of the gas come in we can build a huge fertiliser plant,” Jagdeo saida
He added that with the rise of the oil prices internationally, government has to expend billions of dollars to subsidise electricity and water in Guyana.
During the meeting, rice farmers called for better roads in the backdams. They also called for better paddy prices, pleading with the millers to increase them. At the moment rice millers are offering $3,700 for a bag of grade ‘A’ paddy and $53,900 for a tonne. This, they said, is unprofitable for them since many of them do not get grade ‘A’.
Other issues raised were the high dockage and moisture content deductions that millers are taking from them. A team from the Guyana Rice Development Board will revisit the mills.
Owner of Golden Fleece Rice Investments, Nazeemul Hakh said that currently millers are awaiting a ship to come to Guyana. He said that his mill was looking for a vessel for over three weeks to do a first shipment even though in his view the price he is offering is competitive.
Hakh complimented the government for making the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) wharf available for rice millers. He said that rice farmers who reaped earlier in the crop will receive retroactive payments. Rice farmers, he said, have complained of still being owed for paddy supplied to rice millers crops ago.
