Mahaica farmers decry losses, lack of concern from Govt

Rice farmers from the Mahaica Creek area, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) have lambasted Government’s taxation measures on routine supplies needed to cultivate their crops.

These farmers from the DeHoop Branch Road, Handsome Tree and Byaboo areas turned out in their numbers to express their concerns when Guyana Times visited the area on Sunday.
According to the farmers, their main source of income was rice along with cash crops, and the recent taxation measures have been “harsh” to them.
The farmers said the Government has removed the list of exempted and zero-rated Value Added Tax (VAT) items, causing them to have to increase their cash crop prices, much to the dissatisfaction of their customers.
Additionally, the price of paddy has dropped drastically, while production costs continue to rise. The cost of production, this newspaper was told, counting fertiliser, insecticide, weedicide, etc, has increased. Given that spare parts and machinery all now attract VAT, that “makes it more difficult for us to make ends meet as a farmer”.

Farmers also noted that added to the production costs was their constant battle with paddy bug infestation.
One farmer explained, “If you take a truckload of paddy to the mill, a small truck would usually give you an average of 120 to 130 bags of paddy; however, currently with the paddy bug infestation, we barely make 80 bags from a small truck.”
He noted that some farmers would not be able to return to their fields as a result of the problems.
The farmers highlighted that the Government has not provided any subsidies to them, so the situation presently was “terrible”.
“When we take our paddy to millers, they usually do what they want. Say we take 100 per cent to them, they sometimes come back and tell us that 60 per cent is damaged and only pay us for the remaining 40 per cent; we can’t say anything because there is no one to say anything to.”
It was relayed to this newspaper that previously, the Guyana Rice and Development Board (GRDB) would have a representative at each rice mill, to verify the paddy grade. However, this verification process ceased some time ago. As such, rice farmers are calling for the reimplementation of this system.

Flooding, MMA
The Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) also came in for harsh criticism by the farmers, who clearly stated that “they don’t pay us any heed”.
Presently, the drainage and irrigation system in Mahaica is said to be very poor, and heavy rainfall causes flooding. To avoid this, pumps have to be used to drain excess water from the land which means major expenses for the farmers.
Previously, such drainage assistance was given by the MMA-ADA; however, such support now attracts a high monetary charge.
Upper Mahaica River Farmers Development Group Chairman Haripaul Bhagwandeo told this publication that farmers could not afford the rates and rentals charged by the MMA-ADA, since “we are not getting value for our money”.
It was revealed that the MMA-ADA issued a statement which indicated that all cleaning works on canals in the area must be suspended, since it was without sufficient funds to finance such works.
Bhagwandeo said, “Farmers now have to get self-help to get the canals cleaned, so we are paying money but not getting services.”
The farmers in the Byaboo area disclosed that the land was flat and only when there was extreme dry weather for four months or more would the accumulated water completely recede.
If farmers are allocated 10 acres of land there, it was noted, only two would usually be planted, as the land would usually have to be excavated and built up which costs millions of dollars.
Bhagwandeo added, “So seeing that, it is not fair to charge the people here high rates, because we have to find millions of dollars to do excavation works and bulldozer work to reap proper crops.”
The farmers are calling for the review of the land rental and Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) fees or the complete removal of such fees, as there is no infrastructural work done by the MMA-ADA that the farmers could benefit from.
One farmer said, “You need to put in the infrastructure work first and then the charges afterwards, not the other way around.”
Both rice farmers and cash crop farmers are calling for the issues plaguing them in Mahaica to gain a listening ear, as the rice industry is even more important to Guyana, given that “the sugar industry is, at the moment, crumbling”.