E’bo erupts over late rice payments…Protest leader stripped naked by police as farmers burn tyres and block roadway in standoff
A protest by Essequibo rice farmers over late payments turned ugly last night. Police fired teargas into an irate crowd that hurled bottles and other missiles at the ranks and burnt tyres on the main road at Land of Plenty, Essequibo Coast.
A bridge block by the protestors.
The farmers have also blocked the roadway with tractors, trucks and other vehicles and have vowed to keep up their protest until their demands are met. During the melee, Alliance for Change (AFC) Regional Councillor, Naith Ram, was stripped.
A senior police official told Kaieteur News that at least 100 protesters had resisted arrest and that no one had been detained. However, at press time, eyewitnesses said that the protest had escalated and police had begun to arrest some of the protesters.
The police official also alleged that the protestors threw bottles, stones and other missiles at his ranks, though one rice farmer refuted this claim.
Up to late last night, a large fire was still burning on the roadway at Land of Plenty and the roadway remained impassable.
“We will stay whole night till (President Donald) Ramotar or (Dr Roger Luncheon) come here,” one rice farmer, who identified himself as Bhim Singh, told Kaieteur News.
The protest, which began peacefully, stemmed from repeated complaints by rice farmers of late payments by millers and of poor drainage.
AFC Regional Councillor, Naith Ram, had asked for an audience with Agriculture Minister, Leslie Ramsammy, Region Two Chairman, Parmanand Persaud and the Regional Executive Officer, Sunil Singh, but none of the Regional Officials have engaged the angry farmers.
They have also been demanding a meeting with members of the Guyana Rice Development Board and Guyana Rice Producers’ Association.
Kaieteur News was told that the protest began around 10.00 hrs near the Bush Lot market, with the crowd using a public address system to voice their complaints. The farmers, who were carrying placards, then headed for Anna Regina, where they stopped and again voiced their complaints.
At around 18.30 hrs, the protesters shifted to Land of Plenty, where the growing crowd became unruly, with the farmers blocking the roadway with vehicles. They began burning debris.
It was the second protest by the farmers in two weeks.
Essequibo rice farmers over late payments
Kaieteur News was told that Naith Ram, the AFC Councillor, had sent a letter to Minister Ramsammy and other officials connected to the rice industry, but got no response.
Naith Ram, who is also the President of the Essequibo Farmers’ Association Group, has vowed that rice farmers would continue to protest until Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and other officials address their grouses.
Ram contended that Essequibo Rice farmers have been suffering for too long, especially in the area of late payment to farmers by millers. He said other problems that they would have been agitating for over the years include poor drainage, appropriate weight and dockage for their paddy.
“We need a fair share, a fair deal. What we are getting for all we putting in? We are getting shaft,” one farmer said.
Rudolph, a rice farmer from Better Success, Essequibo Coast, suggested that millers who defaulted on payments should be prosecuted. He also suggested that farmers should be paid two weeks after they would have sold their paddy to millers, in accordance with the Rice Factory’s Act, which would further enable farmers to produce more.
Some farmers have not received payments for paddy sold almost three months ago. Rice millers are reportedly paying farmers$2,500 per a bag of paddy. Previously, farmers were reportedly paid some $4,100 and $4,200 per bag.
According to Moses Nagamootoo, Member of Parliament for the Opposition’s Alliance For Change, the rice situation is a worrying one for Guyana at the moment.
Not only is rice a major part of Essequibo, but recent rains had left several farms under water. In addition to losses, farmers are also contending that they are owed millions of dollars. Government had been examining options of the banks loaning monies to the millers to pay the farmers but not much headway had been made in the talks between the Rice Producers Association, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and Government.
GRDB has assured that Guyana has market for about 500,000 tonnes of rice that will be available this year but farmers and experts remain unsure.
While Guyana has been benefitting from Venezuela under the lucrative oil-for-rice deal, it has also been targeting the less profitable Jamaica and Haiti markets.
Aside from that, there are not many other significant markets overseas. Government has been pushing for increased production but without new markets, the situation remains a worrying one for farmers who fear that they will be left with a large surplus this year. This surplus could drive down the price being offered to farmers which is currently hovering around $3000 per bag.
This year, the industry is targeting 540,793 tonnes up from 535,429 tonnes produced last year.
Last year, rice exports expanded 22 per cent to US$239M with almost 395,000 tonnes exported. The average export price per tonne for export was US$607. This meant that rice performed better than sugar and second only to gold in terms of foreign currency earnings.
Under this year’s contract, Guyana has to supply 140,000 tonnes of paddy and 50,000 tonnes of white rice. With delays in Venezuela’s ports with the rice ships, a known problem, the country has so far for the year been able to only ship about half of the quota – 25,000 tonnes of white rice and 70,000 tonnes of paddy.
According to projections, the next crop, expected to start in August is likely to bring in 250,000 tonnes.
