Rice farmers warned about dangers of drying paddy on roadways

…urged to utilise drying floors

Rice farmers on the Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), are being urged not to use the Corentyne Highway as a place to dry their paddy, which is in violation of the traffic laws and dangerous to commuters.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha over the weekend called on farmers to uphold the law and not break it.
The issue of drying paddy on the road is an age-old problem but over the past half-decade, farmers have been complying with the law to a great extent.
However, for this crop, rice farmers have shown no regard for the law, endangering the lives of road users as they place objects including concrete blocks, iron rims and tires on the carriageway to prevent vehicles from traversing on the paddy, thus taking up close to half of the highway.

In fact, President of the Rice Producers Association Leeaka Rambrich had used social media to call on farmers to use the road to dry their paddy, saying in a social media post that he was given approval from the officer in charge of traffic in the region.
However, that officer distanced himself for the post, saying that he had no conversation with the RPA President.
In addition to that, farmers have also been refusing to use low beds to transport their combines and are now opting to drive them on the road. While this is prohibited, Rambrich told this newscast that the combines are not damaging the road’s surface.
Owners of low beds charge a fee of $20,000 if a rice farmer wants to hire it to transport a combine.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha was recently asked about the Ministry’s position on the issue.
“I have said to the farmers that they can’t break the law, they have to go with what the law says. Also, we have to work with the stakeholders. We have to work with the farmers, the Private Sector and the police to resolve this problem. This is an age-old problem. Over the last few years, we have witnessed a lot of accidents caused by drying paddy on the road. So, it is a situation where we have to work with all the stakeholders to resolve, but as Minister, I am not encouraging anyone to break the law. What the law says we must abide by it,” he said.
The same question was asked to the Regional Chairman, David Armogan, who had previously said that he was going to engage the Traffic Department to deal with the issue.
He noted that the issue has been discussed at various levels.
Noting that it is a prenatal problem, Armogan said there will come a time when authorities will have to approach the issue holistically.
“In the meantime, we have to prepare ourselves to provide the necessary facility,” the Chairman said.
There is a seed drying facility at Number 56 Village built by the Government which farmers have not been using. In fact, some farmers dry their paddy on the road in front of the facility.
Responding to this, Armogan noted that the facility only has the capacity to dry about 40 per cent of the seedlings which are needed for the crop in the Region.
“Therefore you have to get a drying floor made out of concrete because the drying facility is far below capacity in terms of what is demanded and it is only one drying facility the Region has.”
However, the way rice is cultivated in the Region for the purposes of harvesting, there is no given time that 40 per cent of the Region’s production is being harvested at the same time.
However, according to Armogan, the facility at Number 56 Village is not working at full capacity.
Currently, the Agriculture Ministry is carrying out upgrades to the facility.
Armogan added that once it is up and running, it is expected that there might be a decrease in the number of rice farmers who place their paddy on the Corentyne Highway to dry.
“We have to be able to provide a facility for farmers. At the end of the day, rice is important for the economy and also for our survival so it is not an easy situation to handle because when you talk to farmers, they ask a simple question, ‘well what do you want me to do?’ and I don’t have the answer,” Armogan revealed.
Meanwhile, he noted that the police have been advised that the law has to take its course. The regional administration, he added, is against the use of combines on the road’s surface since they cause damage to the road’s surface. The law is the law and the police have to make sure that people abide by the law.
“Some people are trying to save a few dollars at the expense of the rest of people who will have to use the roadway,” Armogan added. (Andrew Carmichael)