Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, he proposed that Government subsidise the enterprise as he claimed it is in a position to do so.

Rahman said failure, by the farmers, to secure the prices he suggested will severely hamper their ability to cultivate the next crop.

The current price for paddy being received by producers is $3,000 per bag for paddy and that is not enough to cover the money invested for this crop.

Rahman said, contrary to what the recognised RPA believes, his statements in the media are not intended to cause division in that organisation but to merely highlight that it is not doing sufficient for farmers.

He said his committee is not an organisation but a voice for farmers and his struggle in the interest of rice farmers is not new.

Rahman said he had to flee this country after being falsely accused of treason in 1980, when the neglect of industry was used as a political weapon against the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

He recalled that it was not until the advent of the PPP to power, in 1992, that President Cheddi Jagan began opening up lands for rice farmers.

Rahman said, too, that Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) needs the intervention of representatives elected by farmers to look into important matters of their concerns.

He acknowledged that the Ministry of Agriculture intervened to address the situation and commended Minister Robert Persaud on his recent warning to millers that the export commission which was given to them will be withdrawn if the benefits are not passed down to farmers.

But he admonished GRDB to keenly examine price fluctuations on the market and establish a reserve to aid farmers in difficult times.

Rahman advised farmers to form themselves into cooperatives and acquire their own mills in order to avoid the problems they encounter with millers, a suggestion proffered by Minister Persaud last September during a meeting in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam).

VALUE-ADDED
Rahman also suggested that it is time GRDB and RPA get farmers to venture into value-added activities and get value for their money.

He also advocated that the Ministry of Agriculture open a machinery store where tractors and combines can be rented to small farmers at reduced costs, to keep the planters in business during period of challenge in the industry.

Minister Persaud, at a recent Windsor Forest Primary School forum in Region Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands), told rice farmers that Guyana is not immune to the challenges affecting the global rice trade.

He said the drop in prices on the international market will result in reduced payment for the commodity and the same principle would apply when there is an increase.

In the first three-quarters of 2008, Persaud noted that farmers enjoyed a productive period as there was less production on the international market when some producing countries banned the export to satisfy local consumption, in light of the food crisis.

He said farmers profited locally from that situation and a few millers were even choosing their markets, which Rahman failed to recognise.

However, prices for the staple began to decline significantly at the end of 2008 and continued this year although the present price remains above that offered last year but Persaud reminded that the Guyanese industry, like that in other countries, has its ups and downs.

He attributed the low price for paddy to several factors and said that, specifically, countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand, which once ceased cultivation, are now getting back into it.

Persaud said too many countries engaged in excess borrowing and the fall in the commodity prices, ranging between 35 and 40 per cent, further compounded the situation for farmers in this country obtaining competitive compensation for their paddy.

The situation at hand, he said, is the market is secure but paying farmers a competitive price for their paddy remains a challenge.

Farmers for the most part of 2008 received $4,000 and $4,500 per bag for paddy, as compared to the present range of between $2,000 and $3,000 being offered by various millers.

Approach
He lauded those farmers who have minimised expenditure and increased production, agreeing that this approach demonstrates cost effective management, a critical tool to remain competitive in the business.

Persaud said only through increased yield will farmers generate more income from their fields and he pledged that Government will always take steps to improve their business and ensure the viability of the industry, despite the external situation and limited availability of resources.

He said Government’s reduction of the export commission to US$4 from US$10 will earn less income for GRDB to carry out its operations but the money that would go to the millers will enable them to offer farmers a competitive price for their paddy.

Persaud said, in spite of limited resources, Government will continue to look at innovative ways to increase production and introduce varieties capable of withstanding climate change.

RPA General Secretary, Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj, said Government recognises the difficulties facing farmers and has arranged for them to receive seed paddy for the next crop, reduced drainage and irrigation (D&I) charges and lowered the price for fertilisers by 40 per cent which, together with the reduction of the export commission, cost $850M.

RPA President, Mr. Lakeraj Rambrich, charged that the RPA Action Committee has no relation to RPA as its General Council never appointed that body.

He said the RPA is doing all within its means to champion the cause of farmers and has found it regrettable that Rahman would want to destroy the organisation which he claimed his father helped to form.