Wolves in sheep’s clothing playing politics with rice industry – Rohee
General-Secretary of the PPP Mr. Clement Rohee
General-Secretary of the PPP Mr. Clement Rohee

THE ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) will continue to support rice farmers in the interest of the continued growth of the industry. This is the assurance given by the Party’s General Secretary, Clement Rohee, who stressed the PPP’s vehement rejection of attempts by Opposition factions to “play politics” with the industry by peddling misinformation about the industry’s operations.
“The party is aware of those who are seeking to play politics with the industry by spreading all manner of misinformation in order to score cheap political points, and calls on our farmers to reject these wolves in sheep’s clothing,” he said on Monday, during the party’s weekly press conference held at Freedom House, Robb Street.

MUST BE VIGILANT
To this end, the PPP General Secretary called for vigilance among industry stakeholders.
“The PPP calls on our farmers to be vigilant and not to allow persons with obvious political agendas to mislead them, and in the process play into the hands of those who ruined the once vibrant industry under the PPP administration of the 1957-1964 period,” Rohee said.
He pointed out that one of the first acts of the PNC regime when it took power was to reduce the price of rice and paddy by scrapping the lucrative Cuban market, and cut all subsidies to the industry on inputs such as fuel and fertilisers.
“Those were the dark days when police dogs were cut loose on protesting farmers and when farmers were forced to abandon their lands due to the vindictive policies of the PNC regime,” he said.
Presently, Guyana has export agreements with several countries in the Caribbean, Venezuela and Panama, among others. Also, arrangements for rice shipments to countries in West Africa are still being finalised.
The export target for 2014 was 460,000 tons; however, the actual exports surpassed 499,000 tonnes, while production topped the 600,000 tonnes mark. The export in 2013 was 394,000 tons, from a production of 535,212 tonnes.
In light of this, Rohee extended the party’s congratulations to rice farmers and other stakeholders for the successful year the rice industry has had.
He said. “The record production levels are indicative, not only of the diligence and hard work by farmers, but also of improved drainage and irrigation systems and better access dams put in place by the PPP/C administration, which have resulted in a much greater acreage of land under cultivation. This, coupled with new and improved varieties, has significantly impacted on production and productivity levels.”

AWARE OF CHALLENGES
The PPP General Secretary also stressed the party’s acknowledgement of the hardships faced by rice farmers, particularly as a result of untimely payments.
On that note, he commended the Government of Guyana on its decision to offer financial support to rice millers to ensure payments are made.
“(We) call on the relevant authorities, including millers, to do everything within their power to ensure not only prompt payments, but at the best prices available for the produce on the market,” he added.
The accumulated sales of paddy by rice farmers to millers amounted to more than $42B for the two crops in 2014.
Given the volume of sales, some $2.1B in advanced payments was released to millers. Prior to the release of the monies, more than $39B, more than 93 percent of the sums owed, was already paid. By the end of the week, another $1.2B in payments are expected to be made, leaving less than two percent of farmers still to be paid in full.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.