Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Vinceroy Jordan, yesterday lashed out at Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, over the sum of $1.3 billion allocated towards the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), flagging the Board as the main driver of production, varieties, and yields within the rice industry.
Jordan on day three of the budget debate posited that it was quite unacceptable for the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) to say that they are expanding the rice industry with this “paltry” sum.
“Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that while this government boasts about $97.6 billion being pumped into agriculture this year, I want the Guyanese to understand the true outlay of this allocation. Sir, the Guyana Rice Development Board which deals with the support of production, varieties, and yields within the rice industry only received a meagre $1.3 billion, yet this government speaks about expanding the rice cultivation industry. It begs the question. Where is the study? Where are the plans? How did you arrive at this figure?” The Opposition Member quizzed.
However, Mustapha told the 74th Sitting of the National Assembly that what Jordan said made “no sense.”
Without addressing the subject of budgetary allocations towards GRDB, the minister said that from 2020 to 2023, the PPP/C spent $122 billion on agriculture as compared to $95 billion spent by the APNU+AFC in five years.
According to Mustapha, the former David Granger administration had no vision for agriculture which was one of the reasons why they lost support at the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
“They claim they love agriculture so much and they wanted it to be the backbone of Guyana’s economy, but they reduced the budgetary allocations for agriculture when the PPP/C demitted office in 2015.”
He continued, “Mr Speaker, let me remind the Guyanese people that in 2014, the last year before we came out of office in 2015, the budgetary allocation towards the agri-sector was $15.4 billion, and in 2019 under the APNU+AFC was $13.1 billion, and they are the people who said they love agriculture, instead of increasing these budgetary allocations they decreased it.”
“Mr Speaker, this year agriculture alone will get $97.6 billion which marks a significant increase,” Mustapha boasted.
But Jordan rebutted that corn, soya beans, coconuts, agro-processing, citrus, spices, livestock, fisheries, and aquaculture, all received just under $7 billion.
The Shadow Minister contended that the sub-sectors itemised in the table above are areas that the government must develop in order to expand Agriculture in Guyana.
He noted that rice cultivation and production are critical, while livestock farming plays a pivotal role in our agricultural development.
“Sir, this Budget has no studies, policies, or plans, for the development of our meat and dairy production. There are no plans for the enhancement of feed production and marketing.”
He continued, “What we need Mr Speaker, is a comprehensive agriculture plan and programme, taking into consideration every region and their geographical differences, while recognising the need for a carefully balanced allocation that will see a new and developing agricultural sector paving the way for Guyana to become the nation that will feed the nations of the world, with a structured and sustainable agricultural sector.”
With that he challenged the government. “Mr. Speaker, I dare say this government lacks any concrete plan and vision for the true expansion of the Agricultural Sector.”
GUYSUCO Contretemps
Things got testy when Jordan stated that despite government’s continuous investment in the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the reality is that the sugar company is unprofitable and underperforming.
According to the Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture, GuySuCo is producing 50% less sugar today, than under the Coalition Administration despite the investments being made.
But Minister Mustapha accused Jordan of misleading the National Assembly.
Mustapha: “The decline of the sugar industry did not start under the PPP/C government… In 2014, the last full year for us when we were in office, sugar grew by 16 per cent. We made a target of 216,357 metric tonnes. In 2015, for half a year when they took over the government in March…The sugar industry started to decline… It went to a seven per cent increase in the sugar industry at that point,”
Jordan: “Mr Speaker, we cannot run from the fact that GuySuCo is failing miserably under the PPP/C. It failed and was almost destroyed before 2015, and yet again GuySuCo is on its dying bed in 2024 here are the facts. From 2019 under the APNU+AFC which was the Coalition’s last full year in Office, GuySuCo received and produced the following.
In 2019 – $4 billion from producing 92,246 metric tons and in 2020, $7 billion from producing 80,000 metric tons. And here are the results after the PPP took control in 2020.
2021 – $4 billion from producing 57,995 metric tons and 2022 – $5.5 billion made 47,000 metric tons.
“Mr Speaker, when compared in 2023, $6 billion was spent and we see a major decrease with GuySuCo only making 60,000 metric tons and yet again in 2024 GuySuCo will receive $6 billion”.
Despite Jordan’s figures, Mustapha continued to lay the blame squarely at the feet of the APNU+AFC government, citing that under their administration, in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, the sugar industry declined by 21 per cent, 25 per cent, 24 per cent, and 12 per cent respectively.
He also rapped the former government for the closure of four sugar estates in 2016 and 2017, which resulted in approximately 7,000 sugar workers losing their income. He posited that due to the callousness of the APNU+AFC many citizens who worked at these respective sugar estates were faced with severe financial implications. Further, due to the closure of Wales, Skeldon, Enmore and Rose Hall estates, their physical infrastructure deteriorated.
“When we went to these estates, we inherited damaged punts, factories were damaged, fields were abandoned. We had to make resources available to ensure that we got back these factories into operation. We are standing to our promises that we have made,” Mustapha asserted.
Notably, in 2023, the sugar sector received an investment of $8.1 billion to continue the growth of the industry. This also reflects a decrease of 22 per cent when compared to 2022.
The agriculture minister referenced the reopening of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate in September 2023.
“In just three years, the sugar industry has once again become vibrant. We are seeing growth in the sugar industry. We have seen a 28 per cent growth in the sugar industry last year. This year, it will further grow another 66 per cent to ensure that we make 100,000 metric tonnes of sugar. That is the turnover that we are talking about,” he touted.
But Jordan insisted that GuySuCo is figuratively “a white elephant.”
“Mr Speaker, we [the Opposition] have no problem with sugar workers. We were right-sizing the industry in the interest of the very workers and our country. However, we question the waste and mismanagement of the spending of billions of dollars on GuySuCo because we care about the industry and its sustainability.
“We will continue to question the poor management and gross incompetence of this government when it comes to the affairs of GuySuCo.
“The bottom line is Sir, that the APNU+AFC Coalition government prudently managed GuySuCo and the industry was better off aiming to be viable and self-sustainable.”
