Dear Editor,
I WRITE as someone who grew up in the rice industry and continues to do, but in a limited way. The recent credit relief for fertiliser is more or less an after-thought by Minister Noel Holder. I have to admit that I did not expect him to be appointed to this position, after the relentless campaigning to remove the PPP from office. He was nowhere on the campaign trail. Someone would have to answer this question at some time to come, but that might to be too late.
The attitude of this Minister and the Alliance For Change, in particular, towards the rice farmers is frightening. They have shown total disrespect to the people who provide this STAPLE diet to all Guyanese. All rice farmers will know that planting rice is a “backbreaking exercise” that not many people are willing to undertake-but yet the eaters of this valuable grain show scant respect to this section of the population who feed them.
A time will come, if there is no drastic change of attitude towards us rice farmers, and the rice industry as a whole, when we may have to import rice from abroad. The question is: why must one section of the population has to make such a great sacrifice at their own peril to feed the nation? It would seem that most Guyanese have no respect for us – as producers.
Historically, rice farmers and the rice industry have been treated as the property of successive governments. Space does not allow me to go into great detail, but suffice it to say that the rice farmers have never been in total control of their destiny – as private owners of the means of production. The Minister of Agriculture has stated repeatedly that the rice industry is a private affair, but yet he has total control (over) the very marketing of our rice and paddy that are shipped abroad.
The Guyana Rice Development Board is governed by an Act of Parliament, which gives the Minister the powers to appoint the Chairperson to the Board and the rest of Directors, which consist of 13 members, but the incumbent Minister has appointed 15, which is a breach of the Act. The Rice Marketing Board was controlled by the Jagan-PPP in the 1960’s – but with subsidies to rice farmers – the rice industry prospered. Under Forbes Burnham, the Rice Marketing Board was led by PNC party hacks, who brought the rice industry to its knees, forcing President Hoyte, after the death of Mr. Burnham, to sell off all the mills and silos to local and foreign companies – the millers that are now further exploiting the rice farmers, under the very eyes of the government.
The Jagdeo-PPP dealt a massive blow to the rice farmers who had hoped for control and massive improvements, with the very lucrative Venezuelan market. The Venezuelan market was secured by this writer, as Secretary of the Guyana-Venezuela Friendship Society, but ended up with massive corruption and the consequence of six persons now facing trial for alleged fraud and mismanagement of rice farming money. One of the alleged offenders is closely related to former President Jagdeo. She was the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, where she acquired a brand new Primo vehicle from the GRDB.
The new APNU-AFC government came into office with huge hope and expectations – a Manifesto commitment to: 1. Re-establish the Agriculture and Industrial Bank (GAIBANK), 2. restructure the rice board, (Guyana Rice Development Board), 3. establish a stabilisation fund to cushion the fluctuation of prices on the world market 4. democratization of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), totally controlled and misused by the PPP. None of these promises has been fulfilled.
Rice farmers were assured by the now Prime Minister, Nagamootoo, at the Bush Lot, Essequibo meeting, attended by this writer and many rice farmers – that he will include all the rice farmers and activists in an INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT to make the industry a viable entity. The Forensic Audit Report, which took more than a year to complete, has been released to SOCU, the Police investing arm dealing with corruption of all sorts. The shocking revelation of a $100 million loan to Dharamkumar Seeraj, the current General Secretary of the Rice Producers Association, which was to be repaid in December 2014, will be further investigated by the newly-investigating body, SARA, (State Asset Recovery Agency) or SOCU.
Regards
M. Jinnah Rahman
Co-chair – RPA ACTION COMMITTEE