[www.inewsguyana.com] – Scores of rice farmers backed by officials of the Alliance For Change (AFC) staged another protest in front of the Guyana Rice Development Board [GRDB] office in Anna Regina on Friday, March 14 to press their demands for better prices for their paddy.
The farmers, who were armed with placards, protested the low prices being paid by millers for paddy. Some farmers also complained that they have not received payments for their produce since the last crop ended in October 2013.
Reports from the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) at Anna Regina indicated that harvesting is in progress across the coast and Field Officers are busy in the fields and at some twelve rice factories to ensure farmers get proper grades for their paddy.
According to information received, some 9,883 acres are already harvested with average production of some 36.3 bags per acre. Some 37,200 acres are expected to be harvested with production expected to surpass the set target of one million bags at the end of the crop.
The prices currently being offered are Extra A $3,500, A, B and C $3,000. per bag.
