MMA and rates…Drastic changes necessary to make MMA/ADA profitable again- Min. Holder

Jun 14, 2016 News

The Mahaica/Mahaicony Abary/Agriculture Development Authority (MMA/ADA) serves many

Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder

purposes, including allocating and administering lands between the Berbice and Mahaica Rivers. However, there have been several clashes between farmers and the administration over their leases to these lands.
Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, said that the time had come for drastic changes, including raising the rates land holders pay for the land, in order to make MMA/ADA profitable as an agency of the Government.
The Minister lauded the fact that phase one of the MMA, which covered the conservancy, irrigation, drainage Abary/Berbice, has been highly successful. He noted that this has contributed to Region Five being the biggest rice producing region in Guyana. However, he stated that the agency had fallen down in terms of rates for land rental and keeping up with the cost of drainage and irrigation.
“The result of that is that where MMA use to be a source of income to the Government, it is now taking money out of the government to survive, $237M out of the budget this year. So we really have to look at raising rates to (higher) levels.”
He pointed out that optimally, funding for the MMA/ADA’s other phases was supposed to come from phase one. However, he noted that at this stage funding might have to be sought from international agencies such as Inter-America Development Bank (IDB) or the World Bank.
“They will probably fund 80 percent, but we have to find the 20 percent,” he said. “The 20 percent is supposed to be found from the surpluses of phase one. But you see, they are taking money from the treasury, instead of putting money in to get phase two (funded). We have to frontally address these problems, because there are too many areas where accounts have been hemorrhaging.”
He made it clear that an important source of revenue is to have its agencies put money into the treasury. Holder stated that when funding these agencies, it constitutes taking money out of the coffers. He referenced MMA/ADA and Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo, which got $9B in 2016), stating that sectors such as education and health could instead have gotten those funds.
“It is very difficult, I suppose, having to talk to the unions about public services increases. (The Minister of Finance) has to (consider) where he will find the money. If you are bailing out GuySuCo, MMA/ADA, well, where are the funds to raise salaries? It should be the reverse, so everyone can have a share of (the good life).”
Earlier this year, a group of rice farmers from Seafield, West Coast Berbice secured a High Court ruling which could potentially see them repossessing farm lands that were reclaimed by the MMA/ADA.
The three farmers, Phillip Johnson, Rawle Miller and Rupert Blackman had moved to the courts last October through Attorney Anil Nandlall after the MMA/ADA cancelled their leases for several acres of plantation lands.