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Over 2800 rice farmers in Regions 5, 6 to benefit from $3B assistance programme
(Kaieteur News) – Over 2800 rice farmers in Regions Five and Six are slated to benefit from the $3B assistance programme recently announced by President Irfaan Ali.
Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, on Wednesday met with rice cultivation committees from the two regions, to discuss findings stemming from a series of field visits, alongside verification exercises which were conducted to identify which farmers were eligible for the initiative, the Agri. ministry said in a statement.
“During the meeting, committee members provided updates on the verification process and outlined the results of their assessments. The exercise was undertaken to ensure that all eligible farmers are accurately identified and captured for the distribution of assistance. According to the reports presented, a total of 1,387 farmers in Region Five and 1,484 farmers in Region Six have been verified and are set to benefit from the programme,” the statement said.
Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha address the committee members at the meeting.
During his address to the committee members, Mustapha stressed the importance of maintaining accuracy and transparency throughout the process used to verify farmers. He reminded that the administration is committed to ensuring assistance reaches the intended beneficiaries and that the integrity of the exercise is upheld.
The initiative is part of a targeted intervention by government to support rice farmers countrywide. Farmers who cultivate 50 acres and below will receive $15,000 per acre, while farmers cultivating more than 50 acres will receive $10,000 per acre.
On May 1, President Ali announced a $3B in support for rice farmers.
Addressing the farmers at the meeting held at the ACCC, he said the government has been making huge investments in the rice industry since its return to office in 2020, working to ensure drainage and irrigation is improved and investing in research and development to improve yields.
He said there are plans over the next five years to address the farm-to-market roads, and critical dams, which will allow farmers to continue their work under the different weather conditions and patterns. “These investments we have been making continuously and will make continue to make, because we want to ensure that we are able to get up, to bring down the cost of production, to improve productivity, and importantly, to allow you to be in an industry that would allow you to earn and to grow. Part of the strategy that we have over the next five years also include maximizing or optimizing the opportunity to earn from your land, and that is why we are doing some important work now in research and development and crop integration, to find ways in which we can optimise the value that you get from your land,” the head of state said.
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