Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy recently addressed a series of issues raised by rice farmers on the Essequibo Coast during a meeting at the Regional Democratic Council’s boardroom in Anna Regina.

Earlier last week, farmers protested that in addition to non-payment, they were being shortchanged by millers, especially during the weighing and grading of paddy.
Interim payment
Minister Ramsammy said that there can be no doubt that Guyana’s rice industry has grown significantly over the years, and despite the tremendous success of the last crop, there have been and continues to be a lot of challenges that the players within the industry are faced with.
However, the Government of Guyana remains committed to working closely with stakeholders to find workable solutions to overcome these challenges and to ensure that the industry as a whole remains viable.
It was as a result of this commitment that efforts were made to attract the Venezuelan market. In the span of two years, this market has become one of the more lucrative, from which both farmers and millers alike have gained enormously, as the subsequent agreements over time, have covered increasing shipments of rice to Venezuela.
This year, there was a slight delay in finalizing a new agreement and therefore a delay in shipments to Venezuela. As such, millers have been experiencing difficulties in meeting payments to farmers.
In an effort to bring some interim relief to farmers, Minister Ramsammy successfully negotiated an advance payment, so that they can be given at least part of what is owed to them until the first shipment leaves for neighbouring Venezuela. Government is making available $2.5B in this regard.
“I am advancing this money now, so that all the farmers in Guyana can commence preparation of the new crop…this interim payment was not offered to help millers, it was offered based on request by the larger group of farmers,” the Agriculture Minister said.
On May 3, Minister Ramsammy and Venezuelan Nutrition and Food Safety Minister Felix Osorio signed a Letter of Commitment for Guyana to supply 140,000 tonnes of paddy and 70,000 tonnes of white rice.
Minister Ramsammy will depart Guyana for Venezuela this week, when this   arrangement will be consolidated with the actual signing of the agreement. This new deal will extend to May 2014.
He said that the first shipment should be sent off shortly after his return on Thursday, May 16.

Consistent pricing
Meanwhile, Minister Ramsammy reminded millers that commitment to adjust their prices consistent with what is being offered by the Venezuelan Government, which has since assured that the paddy that will be shipped will be no less than it was last year and that the price will remain the same.
“While we can’t force people, because it’s a private sector deal, we do have some leverage because we are the custodians of the law, and we are the ones that issue licences…millers who are fair to people will be given priority over those who are not,” he said.

Rice grading system
Minister Ramsammy agreed that there is need for greater transparency with regard to how this process is being done so that no one makes a profit at the expense of the farmers’ struggles and hard work.
To this end, he announced the establishment of a team comprising representatives of farmers’ groups in Regions 2, 3,4, 5 and 6.
This body will be tasked with visiting every rice mill in Guyana to examine how paddy is handled from the time it is received to the time it is processed, which would include the grading system and the verification of the dockage content.
Minister Ramsammy said that this week  members of the team will be announced. This matter will also be discussed with Dr. Rupert Roopnarine from the APNU and Khemraj Ramjattan from the AFC to ensure that there is consensus at the political level so that the findings of the group will be accepted by all.

Bug infestation
The Agriculture Minister also promised to look into the extension service programme after farmers expressed their dissatisfaction with the way this is being implemented. They are convinced that if extension officers were more proactive, they would have been able to better handle the paddy bug infestation.

Farming Chemicals
Farmers complained of the poor quality farming chemicals which are being sold to them by suppliers, and Minister Ramsammy explained that one of the challenges that Guyana continues to face are porous borders which enable the smuggling of unauthorised chemicals among other things. However, he will be bringing this matter to the attention of the Food and Drug Analyst Department and the Pesticide Board.
“The selling of illegal chemicals is a criminal offence and any business person found guilty of this will be charged,” he stated.
Every chemical that is sold in Guyana has to be registered either with the Food and Drug Analyst Department or the Pesticide Board, especially in the case of farming chemicals and fertilisers.
The minister will be requesting the Pesticide Board to publicise and distribute throughout the country, a list of all registered chemicals. This way farmers will be able to verify that the chemicals they purchase are authorised and not illegal.
Further, farmers’ groups across the country will be able to request copies of the list to ensure that only registered chemicals are procured.

Rice Factories Act
Farmers expressed the view that the Rice Factories Act, which was formulated to benefit all the stakeholders of the industry, must be revisited.
Minister Ramsammy said that indeed there are some weaknesses with regard to this law, which is why prior to the end of the Ninth Parliament, then Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud, had tabled amendments to strengthen the Act. However, in deference to both parliamentary Opposition parties, those amendments were deferred.
Minister Ramsammy said that he is prepared to bring forth those amendments once again. In this regard, teams from the ministry will be visiting the various rice- farming communities to engage both farmers and millers in consultations to determine the provisions that should be amended.
The minister also promised to make representation at the level of the Cabinet on behalf of farmers for them to have one-year fitness on agricultural machinery such as tractors and combines instead of six months.
“We are going to try our best to bring greater transparency and greater confidence. We are not going to solve all the problems in one day…some things we have to  address immediately, and some in the medium and longer term,”   the Minister stated.