Growing agriculture sector: Balance must be struck between farmers, consumers pricing needs – Pres Ali

…stresses need for fair prices, as govt to help market plantain in Hague WCD

Stressing the need for farmers to work together to come up with fair prices, President Dr. Irfaan Ali at a recent impromptu meeting with farmers on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD) also assured that the government would help with the marketing of products such as plantain.

The President made this commitment while visiting the WCD community of Hague in the back dam. At the time, a farmer was complaining that there were no markets for the plantain being produced in the community, prompting the Head of State to offer his government’s assistance.
“You get $30 (a lb) now. You started off by saying you didn’t have any market. Across the country, people are wholesaling at $50 and $60. You buy in town at $100 a lb. I’m saying to you, if you’re telling me, you can’t find a market, we will send in somebody, to buy it from you at that same $60 a lb. What it’s wholesaling for. And we’ll buy out all. So, let’s say we’ll bring all the plantain right here. And they come right here and pick up everything,” President Ali said.
Concern was also raised about crops such as sweet potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes. One farmer noted that when these crops are produced on a large scale by local farmers, persons import Brazilian versions to replace them. However, the President pointed out that exorbitant prices are sometimes demanded by the local farmers for these crops and urged them to collaborate on determining a fair price.
“That’s an issue that farmers raised with me. And you have to be fair too. Last year, three times a year they would grow tomatoes. Tomatoes went to $400, $500 a lb… today its $300 and $200,” President Ali said.
“So, farmers also have to, we have to come together and establish a fair price. Not when there’s a shortage, you come and take advantage of the market. Then when market forces act, it displaces you. We have to have balance because consumers complain too.”
During the meeting, President Ali also illustrated ways in which the PPP/C government is already directly helping the farmers, such as the waiver on fuel taxes. The PPP/C government had steadily reduced the excise tax on fuel from 35 per cent to 10 per cent and then to zero, in an effort to ease the impact of the rising cost of living on Guyanese, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and then exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine crisis in 2022.
“Since we came in government, every year, close to $80 Billion revenue we gave up. You know why we gave it up? We don’t collect any taxes on diesel, or gasoline. All the other countries, they crying out. In the US election, what was (one of) the biggest issues? The cost of gas. We have collected zero tax since we came in the government. Hundreds upon hundreds of revenues we give up, to help you all,” President Ali said.
This year, a sum of $104.6 billion was allocated to the agriculture sector, the highest budgetary allocation for the sector to date. It is expected that this allocation will increase Guyana’s food security and its contribution to regional efforts of reducing food imports.
Last year, the fisheries, vegetables, other crops, fruits, coconut, livestock and rice all showed significant improvements, with a 10.9 per cent growth in the other crops sub-sector recorded while expansion was also observed across major crop categories.