OVER 150 disgruntled rice farmers on Tuesday picketed the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary–Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA), West Coast Berbice, over its recent decision to increase the rental fee for farm lands.Farmers used the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction in the move by Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder and the MMA-ADA to increase the rental fee from $3500 to $15,000 –a decision, which they said, was made allegedly without any consultation with the farmers or the body which represents them, the Rice Producers Association (RPA).
According to General-Secretary of the RPA, Dharamkumar Seeraj, the increase in some of these charges is in excess of 600 percent and is being implemented at a time when farmers are getting low prices for their produce.
“Rice farmers in the project area proper are now being commanded to pay $15,000 per acre, an unbearable increase from $3,500 just last year for land rent and drainage and irrigation charges…Cattle and other-crops farmers are not spared the wrath of this uncaring Authority and their rent and services charges have also been increased by more than 100 percent in many instances,” lamented Seeraj.
The rates for land rent and drainage and irrigation have not been increased for 18 years, Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder has said. Holder described the rates being paid by rice farmers for the services provided by the agricultural scheme as archaic, and said they should be adjusted upwards if the scheme is to be expanded.
“There has been no attempt to keep the rates of land rent and the cost of drainage and irrigation, or the pay for the cost of drainage and irrigation, in line with inflation. The result of that is: where MMA used to be a source of income to the Government, it is now taking money out of the Government to survive — $237M out of the budget for this year. We have to look at raising rates to the proper levels,” the minister had told the Government Information Agency.
In a notice on December 31, 2016, the MMA-ADA declared that in accordance with section 28 of the MMA Act N0. 27 of 1977, charges for drainage and irrigation services provided within the Project Area (Rosignol) were set at $8,000 per acre and were expected to be paid in two equal instalments in February and August.
As such, in an effort to clarify the issue and have the decision to increase the rental fees reviewed, the RPA along with a delegation and scores of farmers sought to confront the General Manager of the MMA-ADA, Aubrey Charles, in a formal meeting.
However, Charles declined to meet with the delegation and stated that he will have to meet with the Board of Directors of the Authority on January 27, 2017, to seek further guidance on whether he should meet with farmers or have the directors meet with them.