Dear Editor,
GUYANA, over the last few months, experienced a natural disaster: flooding. As a result, our nation’s farmers suffered. When farmers suffer, consumers suffer. It reminded me of that old saying my mother would say: “When America sneezes, the world catches a cold.”

Now one might ask how did the consumers suffer. The answer is simple: flooded farms equaled limited access to fresh, Guyanese-grown fruits and vegetables. We all know that when fruits and vegetables are scarce, prices for these precious commodities increase significantly and that quickly became the reality of the Guyanese consumer. Although a lot of livestock was lost, in my opinion, the prices for those items remained stable. It was the cost of the fruits and vegetables that skyrocketed.

A little over a month ago, President Ali had announced a multibillion-dollar relief package for all classes of farmers. News reports have indicated that this initiative has commenced and farmers are receiving cash incentives to assist them with getting their farms up and running again.

These reports also revealed that seeds and seedlings are also being distributed across the country. Our farmers seem happy with this and, as a consumer and weekly market-goer, I am too.
With every story told, there is a hero and a villain. The President and the government have easily won the title of hero. So, who is the villain? The villain or villains are the persons who have openly condemned this initiative. The government gave farmers the resources to get back to farming so that they can continue to feed the nation. If you can sit and condemn that, you must be against feeding the nation.

We cannot become the “breadbasket” of the Caribbean if we cannot feed our own people. We cannot feed our people if our farmers do not have the resources to farm. Governments have the responsibility for ensuring their citizens have the necessary resources to improve their day-to-day lives. Farmers should receive the same benefits as any other citizen. After all, they too are Guyanese. I hope the government continues to support our farmers in every way possible because they deserve it.

Yours sincerely,
Rebecca Todd-Sealey