–Payments in Region Six to start today

RICE farmers in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) who had been owed by millers for paddy supplied them since the last crop cashed in on some $261M yesterday.

Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy told the Guyana Chronicle that the payments to farmers will continue in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) today. “We expect to pay out $71M tomorrow (today); and added to what we paid to Region Two farmers, it will take us over the $300M we expected to pay. But we had some farmers (coming) forward who were not on our list but were also owed by millers,” he said.

Dr Ramsammy explained that the Agriculture Ministry is in a position to make the payments because the millers who owe famers are suppliers to the Venezuelan market, and once shipping to the neighbouring country commences, the monies paid will be recouped.

“We will deduct the money from the millers’ payment, once we start shipping rice to Venezuela,” he said.

The agreement to have the Agriculture Ministry facilitate payments to the farmers followed engagements with both rice farmers and millers in Guyana’s rice producing regions. The Agriculture Minister noted that during those engagements, millers have agreed to keep prices per bag of paddy at between $3,000 and $3,700. He said, “We are monitoring the situation, and hope other millers follow suit. We can’t order them to pay higher prices, we can only cajole them on the basis that, given the current price structure in the market, they can afford to do so.”

Ramsammy urged farmers to go to millers paying better prices as a way to cause other millers to pay prices that are around the same rate. He has also instructed the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to begin a process of placing independent graders at all mills. Millers are allowed to have their own graders, but he is proposing that only GRDB graders be used for a short period to issue paddy grading certificate when farmers’ paddy arrive at mills.
The Agriculture Minister and team is expected to continue the outreach exercise throughout this week.

(By Vanessa Narine)