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Mar 03, 2009 News
Jinnah Rahman, spokesperson for the “RPA Action Committtee”, a pressure group with the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (RPA), has said that rice farmers are losing significant sums of money, and is calling on the government to intervene immediately to save the rice industry from collapsing.
According to Mr. Rahman, the members of the RPA have set up the RPA Action Committee to campaign for a better price for paddy.
Rahman added that it is costing farmers between $125,000 and $140,000 to produce one acre of rice, and rice millers are only offering farmers between $2,500 and $3,000 per bag of paddy.
“The rice industry faces a massive crisis, and rice farmers are producing rice at starvation wages,” Mr. Rahman said
This, he added, would have spin-off effects. According to him, rice production will be drastically reduced, unless the price of paddy goes up to $5,000 or $6,000 per bag.
He also pointed out that if production is less demand will be greater and consumers will end up spending more for rice.
According to Mr. Rahman, the current leadership of the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association has failed to represent the rice farmers in Guyana and is playing silly politics with the livelihood of thousands of farmers, whose main means of existence is rice.
“The rice industry has been privatised, according to the current General Secretary of the RPA, and most of the millers are able to purchase our paddy at a price far below the price at the international market.”
He also said that the price of rice on the international market has not been reduced and, as such, Guyanese farmers should not be exploited by unscrupulous rice millers.
“The Guyana consumers need to know that we are at a cross-road as far as producing rice for local consumption, much more trying to export this commodity, and they need to actively support the farmers in their demand for a price of $6,000 per bag of paddy, or face the consequences of having to import rice at a higher price than what we can produce it in Guyana.
“Farmers make a loss of $38,800 if paddy is sold at $2,000 per bag. Farmers must demand $6000 per bag of paddy to make a comfortable living.”
Mr. Rahman said that it is the duty of the Government to protect the rice farmers and to make relevant laws to prevent the current exploitation by the majority of rice millers and save the rice industry.
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