FORMER prominent businessman and the ‘icon’ of Guyana’s rice industry, Mr. Kayman Sankar of Hampton Court Essequibo, has again come to the rescue of the Essequibo Rice Farmers in Region Two. The decision by ‘Mahaicony Rice Mills to suspend the purchasing of farmers paddy at their ‘Vilvorden Complex’ has sent shock waves to hundreds of farmers all to whom are in the process of reaping paddy from 35,000 odd acres sown. Mr. Kayman Sankar and this business counterpart Mr. Naieem Alli has agreed to allow a committee, known as ‘Farmers Forum ‘ to use the facilities of Sankar Rice Milling Complex, to purchase, grade, dry and store such amount of farmers paddy until sales agreement of such paddy is executed in about six weeks time. The other rice mills in Essequibo do not have the capacity to manage the one and half million bags of paddy produced in Essequibo. Mr. Kayman Sankar Rice Milling Complex and his very popular airport was never out of operation – Sankar, as a single man, purchased Hampton Court as an abandoned sugar cane estate and made history in Essequibo in the management, upgrading and the education of rice farmers in Essequibo. His company offered loans to farmers, stood security at lending agencies, gave scholarship to rice farmers’ children and made dozens of house lots available to residents.
In this energetic period he would visit farmers rice cultivations and give superb advice in the propagation of good rice husbandry, thus moving traditional average of 20 bags of paddy per acre to 30 bags of paddy per acre. His patriotic dispensation to rescue Essequibo farmers is again his ideal to keep the well being of Guyana, foremost in this mind. This approach by the Farmer’s Forum of Essequibo is in collaboration with the help of Guyana Rice Producer’s Association, the Guyana Rice Development Board and Kayman Sankar Rice milling complex.