Black Bush rice farmers light fire, block road over millions owed

Angry rice farmers yesterday burned tyres and protested because of almost $200M owed to them by a Black Bush Polder miller since last year.
Yesterday, after being told that the Manager of the Black Bush Rice Mill was not around, several rice farmers became irate and started to burn wood, tyres and other debris on the road leading to the factory.
Police later arrived on the scene and cleared the roadway.
General Manager, Jagnarine Singh, of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), which regulates the industry, said that the body has received complaints from farmers and has been attempting to summon officials from the mill to a meeting in the city.
GRDB is expected to travel up to that Corentyne, East Berbice area today to assess the situation.
Official figures indicate that around $148M is owed to farmers for the last crop. However, the rice farmers from Yakusari, Mibicuri, Number 64 and 68 Villages and Topside said that figure is closer to $200M.
“We have children we can’t even send to school because Mr. Jai Beni and this rice mill are not paying us. They gave us $100,000 and said that they will pay us soon. We are waiting. They tell us today, tomorrow and the Managers are nowhere to be found.”
Jai Beni is a well-known figure in the rice industry. The Surinamese national, who headed Mahaicony Rice Mills (MRL) which was leased from Government, had run into trouble in the past over outstanding payments. MRL is now under a different management—that of local businessman, Buddy Shivraj.
The problems of Jai Beni have continued with the Black Bush mill, which reportedly started to purchase paddy last year.
Industry officials said that farmers from Black Bush Polder were warned of selling to that particular mill because of the Management’s track record in payments.
The company is claiming that it is owed by customers in Jamaica for exported rice and this affected Guyana.
Under the laws, which were passed less than a decade ago, millers must pay farmers at least 50 per cent of the value of the paddy supplied within 14 days. The balance has to be paid within 42 days.
Some Black Bush Polder farmers, who depend heavily on rice for a living, said that they supplied the mill since last October. “We were supposed to be paid since November. People don’t even have money to eat up here, much less move to the next crop.”
Last year, the industry broke production records, exporting more than 500,000 tonnes of rice and producing in excess of 600,000 tonnes.Jai Beni’s Black Bush Polder rice mill reportedly owes farmers in the Corentyne around $200M from the last crop.