EASING THE FEARS OF FARMERS

Nov 02, 2015 Editorial

For more than a decade, Guyanese have become overwhelmed by massive corrupt practices, high crime rate, especially murders, armed robberies, spousal abuse, and the economic morass and social problems that have hounded them with no end in sight.
The continuing high level of lawlessness that plagues cash crop and poultry farmers in various communities throughout the country is a prime example.It is a sickening and horrible experience that confronts many farmers on a daily basis. For years there have been reports of crop theft, cattle theft and theft of farming supplies and equipment that seldom results in an arrest and conviction. In the few instances that these criminals are caught and brought to justice, they are given a slap on the wrist and told to become a law abiding citizen.
Farming today in Guyana is more difficult than in the past. It is a capital and knowledge intensive business that can be highly productive but only with the proper skills and technology. However, there is evidence that many highly qualified individuals with the requisite farming, business and technological skills will not be attracted to farming.
The reason is that their lives and property are in constant danger as the fruits of their labor are stolen at harvest time by criminals that operate with impunity.
There is no doubt that that the government has to do something to ease the fears of the farmers even if it has to pass new legislation to aid law enforcement to effectively arrest the problems that have been plaguing the farmers for many years. That, as we all know will take time but will the government do it.
More importantly there is a dire need for leadership to help the farmers solve their problems that rightly belong to the Minister of Agriculture.
There is an urgent need for the Minister to develop an action plan with all stakeholders to tackle the problem and to send a strong message to the criminals that the government will not tolerate the continuing assault on the farmers. This should be the primary focus of the Ministry of Agriculture in addition to solving the problems associated with the sugar industry and finding lucrative markets for rice and bauxite, among others.
For many years the former PPP administration has paid much lip service to the importance of the agriculture, especially rice and sugar in order to score cheap political points and to gain votes. But in reality, their propaganda worked because the farmers supported the PPP in the last election and in previous elections even though the PPP did little to improve the agriculture sector which for years has sustained livelihoods in the rural communities.
More specifically, the agriculture sector remains the backbone of the economy and the country’s key foreign currency earner. However, the poor performance of the agriculture sector has resulted from the failure and gross incompetence of the previous government to achieve the objectives it set out in the Medium-Term Policy Framework for agriculture.
The PPP objectives to reduce the food import bill, reduce the rate of food inflation, create sustainable, long-term employment in the sector, increase its contribution to GDP, and create a food secure nation did not materialize. One reason is that more than half of the billions of dollars allocated in the budget for agriculture under the PPP regime was spent elsewhere and the balance was allotted to contractors who did shabby work.
This is a classic case of the PPP playing politics with the livelihood of farmers. It should remind the government of the need for prudent, transparent and accountable management of the nation’s finances.
Furthermore, the saying that life is only 10 percent good but would be 90 percent better based on how one handles it rings true for this government in that it is responsible to change the negative image of the country inherited from the last government into a positive one by being transparent, accountable and truthful to the people. A government that acknowledges its failures, correct them, and practices good governance is likely to gain the confidence of the people.

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EASING THE FEARS OF FARMERS

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