The Kaieteur News carried an article today (March 17) captioned: ‘AFC says may sue negligent authorities for Region 5 cash crop farmers’. This closely follows the AFC’s empty promise to retain two parliamentary seats for members of the Diaspora. Of course, these are nothing but shameless election gimmicks designed to grab votes and funding. Notwithstanding ongoing efforts by the authorities to improve drainage and irrigation, unusually heavy rainfall would invariably result in water accumulation along coastal and low-lying areas. This has been the case for several years.

As such farmers are often affected, hence the numerous steps routinely taken by the Ministry of Agriculture to assist farmers in these difficult periods. It is therefore strange that the AFC has suddenly positioned itself to fight the cause of farmers with this outlandish strategy of threatening to pursue legal action against the authorities.

This is an insult to farmers first and foremost, since the AFC has never found it prudent to support farmers in their struggles, but is scrambling to do so now that the farmers’ votes are needed.

In fact, it is the government, through its agriculture ministry and agencies such as the Guyana Marketing Corporation and the National Agriculture Research Institute that have consistently been at the forefront defending and protecting the interest of farmers across Guyana.   

The promise of parliamentary seats for members of the Diaspora is laden with legal and other problems since they are clear requirements for a person seeking to become a sitting member of the National Assembly. Clearly this is designed to garner funding for the AFC, and nothing else. Surely our family and friends in the Diaspora are not stupid.

The adage of a drowning man will clutch at straws comes to mind when one reflects on these shameless shenanigans of the AFC.