GRDB, RPA concur on legal action against MRL

GENERAL Manager of Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Mr. Jagnarine Singh said, yesterday, that legal action is, definitely, the process to ensure that Mahaicony Rice Limited (MRL) honours its obligation to farmers.
“We have tried persuasion, through the mechanisms available to us, but now we have to go the long haul,” he said, in an invited comment.
Singh said, considering the lengthy Court procedure, many sector stakeholders opted to wait for MRL to pay the debts owed.
However, the waiting has been much too long and creditors are frustrated, having suffered, because farmers have families to support and other crops to cultivate with limited funds, Singh said.
He said, as previously stated by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, MRL’s licence to operate will not be renewed.
“Mahaicony did not satisfy the conditions to be relicensed, based on the Rice Factories Act,” Singh said.
He said MRL has been given enough time and will be held accountable.
Meanwhile, Rice Producers’ Association (RPA) General Secretary, Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj said farmers are ready to pursue tougher measures against MRL and are totally prepared to go the legal route.
He explained, while the RPA has advocated a tough stand against the defaulting company, the full participation of farmers is needed.
Seeraj noted that, in the past, farmers were prepared to wait for payments but, now, the situation has worsened and they have been owed about $200M for more than nine months.
He said MRL’s non-payment has been a recurring problem over the years and the RPA supports honest and transparent operations in the sector, not activities which will place farmers at a disadvantage.
MRL is one of the largest rice millers in Guyana and purchases a significant percentage of the paddy produced locally.