ABOUT 2,244 farmers across Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) are yet to receive flood-relief cash grants from the government but Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, has assured them that the government will honour the more than $200 million payout.

Intense rainfall battered farmers across the country last year and the government set aside $7.8 billion to provide some relief to the farmers who experienced great losses. President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, had said that approximately 52,000 households across 300 communities had been affected by the unprecedented level of floodwaters.

For Region Six alone, approximately $1 billion was allocated. In Black Bush Polder area, where Minister Mustapha visited on Saturday, he said that over $400 million was paid to individual farmers.

But the Agriculture Minister noted that the entire sum allocated to the region was not disbursed last year before the financial year came to a close. He announced that about $200 million is still outstanding with some 2,244 listed farmers yet to collect their relief grants.

“I want to assure everybody that you will receive it,” Minister Mustapha said, noting this this is just part of the string of measures the government is employing to provide relief to farmers in Region Six and across the country.

He also acknowledged concerns about discrepancies in the distribution process, noting that Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jadeo, has been working to address this issue. Last October, the government established a mechanism which would allow persons who suffered losses as a result of flooding to verify their names, persons who were left off of the list to have their names added, and pave the way for an investigation into discrepancies related to the distribution of the flood-relief grants.

As part of the investigation into the matter, members of the public with information on persons who did not qualify for the grant but benefitted, were advised to contact the Agriculture Ministry to aid in the process.

Cash of $100,000 was to be issued to homestead farmers, $50,000 to those with kitchen gardens and $50,000 to affected households; this amounted to over $3.5 billion.

There was a ceiling of $10 million in compensation for rice farmers. Those farmers who lost rice, which was ready to be harvested, were to receive $80,000 per acre.

Those with rice sowed were to receive $65,000 per acre and those with land prepared were to receive $45,000 per acre. In addition, to this support, 60,000 bags of seed paddy were to be made available.

Mustapha said he believed that this process has helped to eliminate unscrupulous acts but he asked the farmers to continue to be vigilant against people trying to “smart the system”.

Some of the farmers who met with Mustapha on Saturday lamented that their losses during the flood last year have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and now further price increases caused by the Ukraine-Russia crisis. The Agriculture Minister assured the farmers that the government is trying to ease their woes through several initiatives.