Panama buyers ‘sweet talk’ Rice Board – Essequibo miller

$132M non-payment to rice farmers

– miller denies victimising farmers

Longtime Essequibo rice miller Wazir Hussain was recently cited as being the ‘chief offender’ with regards to the over $132 million that farmers are owed in outstanding payments for their produce. During last week, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder slammed the prolonged delay and even signalled that sanctions should be brought against errant millers since the extended period of non-payment violates the Rice Factories Act. However, in an exclusive interview with Guyana Times, Hussain absolved himself of the blame, telling this publication that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is largely responsible for the delay.
“As millers, we told GRDB don’t sell the rice to Panama. The Panama people come in and swar GRDB again and they sign the contract for millers to supply but I did not supply back because I didn’t get paid,” he noted.
In 2014, the previous Administration inked a rice deal in a Government-to-Government arrangement with Panama which was expected to reach 600,000 tonnes by 2020. However, over time, some millers have lost favour with the deal, owing to what they contend is the GRDB’s inaction to garner the payments within a stipulated time frame.
This position was reiterated by Hussain, whose family has been in rice production for 25 years. He said because buyers are not handing over all of the payments to the GRDB to pay millers, they in turn owe the farmers.
“We got a contract with the GRDB, we didn’t have a contract with Panama and when GRDB doesn’t pay us, we owe the farmers. If GRDB pays us, we didn’t hold the farmers at ransom; it’s directly that we didn’t have the money after selling the product to GRDB,” the miller said.
However, rice farmer and Essequibo Paddy Producers’ Association Head, Naithram, observed last week that rice farmers on the Essequibo Coast “are being held at ransom by many millers.”
Ram said too that farmers are fearful of taking millers to court out of concern that they would be victimised. He lamented that firm actions were needed, suggesting that some farmers were having difficulties sustaining their families. Nevertheless, miller Hussain denied claims of victimisation.
“There is no victimising. Its 25 years we are milling and farmers support us with paddy. We wouldn’t want to victimise the man who doing business with us. We want farmers as customers. GRDB never tries to pay us,” he noted.
The popular Essequibo miller went on to say that the GRDB had called him and fellow millers to a meeting with representatives from Panama.
“We explained that we will not supply rice until we get paid and people said within three weeks, they would pay off the money on contract 22. They paid some on contract 400 and GRDB put it in the newspaper that millers get paid all the money on contract 400; now the famers will feel that (millers) get paid because they don’t understand the contracts have numbers so any persons who is not a miller or doesn’t understand the industry will say ‘millers get paid’,” Hussain explained.
“Naithram doesn’t understand the industry or which contract he’s talking about… millers did not get paid on contract 22 and we crediting rice for one year to Panama,” the miller further added.
The Department of Public Information (DPI) had quoted Naithram as saying that the non-payment was “negatively affecting the rice industry and the livelihood of rice farmers.” According to Government information, the GRDB noted that millers on the Essequibo Coast owe farmers more than $132 million for paddy supplied from the first crop, with a popular Essequibo miller owing “97 per cent of that figure”.
In response, Minister Holder said millers must not be allowed to mistreat rice farmers and withhold payments. He pointed out that if millers are not treating the farmers justly, then the GRDB could explore withholding milling licences as the law stipulates.
However, the Guyana Rice Millers Association (GRMA) has steadily maintained that millers are signing agreements with the GRDB and not with the buyers in Panama. On this basis, GRDB has an obligation to pay millers, the body contended.