Rice farmers need to have the right to elect their leaders

Mar 20, 2009 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I respond to some of the issues raised by Rajpat Singh, on March 17th, 2009.
He purports to be a rice farmer and he “urged farmers to continue to educate themselves in every conceivable aspect with regards to the current world scenario, especially as it relates to rice and its global perspective and plan, so that they can better equip themselves for the future, whether a month or even five years ahead”.
Mr. Singh should know that the organisation that should represent rice farmers, the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), has become a puddle of the Jagdeo regime. Readers should look at the photo on page 12 – captioned “Caribbean MPs enthused at Nevis geothermal project” of SN (17.03.09) and ask the question – “what is this fellow doing there?”
The RPA produces a very flashy quarterly journal called the “Farmer” – but the journal is left to gather dust in the head office, at Crane, West Coast Demerara. The journal is used as a propaganda tool. It does very little to educate the rice farmers and the general public about what is really going on in the rice industry.
Rice farmers and their children have no opportunity to express any critical opinion or view in the journal about their industry. The person who produces the journal has no direct relationship with the rice industry, except eating the product. In the last issue, the editorial section of Journal went completely out of its way to viciously attack Mr. Turayne Doerga, the CEO of the Alesie Mill, because he dared to stand up consistently for rice farmers in Guyana. Mr. Doerga should be considering libel action.
I agree with Mr. Rajpat Singh that the rice farmers should be educated, so that they fully understand the industry and all the complications. More important, the farmers must be empowered, which means that they must be in total control of their industry and their organisation. For a genuine education programme to be effective and productive, the RPA has to be given back to the rice farmers, who must be involved at the grassroot level to evolve such a programme. The RPA must be run democratically – free from all political and bureaucratic interferences.
We need to prevent handpicked people to be imposed on the rice farmers from Freedom House, and moreover from President Jagdeo’s office.
It is appropriate, I think, to quote from one of the fathers’ of our nation and a longstanding champion of rice farmers, Dr Cheddi Jagan: “We see development as people-centred. When some speak of development, they see only foreign capital and private investment. We see also social capital and human resources.
And when we talk of development, we mean “development with a human face”. For us people come first; they are the centre of everything.
And education is important for their all-round, holistic development. By people, we mean all the people of this country across the barriers of race/ethnicity, religion, gender, political affiliation; whether they live in the hinterland or on the coast; whether they are able-bodied or handicapped; rich or poor.” (See SN, 17.03.09 -page 27)
For these changes to come about, we need to amend the Rice Ordinance, the constitution of the RPA, to prevent persons elected to Parliament (MPs) from one political party or another.  Rice farmers need to have the right to elect their leaders and not to be imposed from above. Currently, the General Secretary of the RPA is not accountable to the rice farmers, but to his political masters.
We are currently witnessing this shameless betrayal of the leaders of the RPA, while the unscrupulous millers run roughshod on the rice farmers.
But despite this betrayal of the rice farmers, it is heartening to note, that the Guyanese consumers are coming out on the side of the rice farmers because they now understand that if the rice farmers are unable to plant rice, given the current price for paddy, which stands at $2,500 and $3,000 per bag, they would have to pay more for rice in the local shops.
It is also noteworthy that the Guyana Trade Union Congress, TUC, has come out in full support of rice farmers.
This has never happened in the history of our country, where we see the largest section of rural workers (rice farmers) and urban workers are supporting each other for their mutual survival. That bond must be consolidated by this new generation of farmers and workers.
It must also be seen as an important step in the struggle to unite our people on the basis of race.
Racism has always been used as the basis of keeping our people separated and at war – to the detriment of ourselves.
A straw poll carried out among farmers and workers recently shows that 99 per cent of our people are firmly against the race politics played out by the two main political parties in our country.
I hope that the truth will be told about the crisis of the rice industry and we can all save it from collapse.
Harry Rampersaud

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