ABOUT 160 rice farmers from several administrative regions yesterday staged a peaceful protest against banks, objecting to what they called harsh loan repayment terms.

The farmers told the Chronicle conditions of repayment for outstanding loans were harsh, contending that such terms and poor paddy prices have made it extremely difficult for them to survive.
General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj said the bankers, in response to President Bharrat Jagdeo's call to give some relief to farmers, had agreed to several measures in principle. However, up to now none of the agreed steps have been implemented.

In fact, Seeraj claimed that hundreds of farmers have been taken to court for failure to meet outstanding payments.

He said bankers had agreed to implement a mechanism to manage the repayment of loans, interest write-offs and reschedule repayment periods.

Seeraj also pointed out that paddy price has declined from $1,800 per bag for the last crop to between $900-$1,300 per bag, contributing significantly to the farmers' plight.

But "the single most important factor is that the price fell from US$440 per tonne of rice to US$210 dollars per tonne...

"We have seen those prices being reduced by more than half, but we have not seen a corresponding restructuring of the repayment by farmers to the banks so your income simply has been gone by half and repayment still remains what it was before," Seeraj told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

He said farmers in Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara have another problem in addition to the loan repayment issue.

The commercial bank, which provided a loan to Genesis Rice Milling Limited in that area, has seized the assets of the company, the owner of which is abroad. As a result, farmers have not been paid for their paddy.

The RPA is contending that the bank should pay the farmers because it has now acquired the assets of the company.

Seeraj said the RPA is fully supportive of the farmers in their struggle for better terms of repayment and will be assessing the situation to determine a further course of action.

One official from the Guyana Bank for Trade & Industry (GBTI) told the Chronicle that the bank would not like to comment on the matter at this stage, but would issue a statement by Monday.

Efforts to get comments from other banks and lending agencies were also unsuccessful.

The protesters from the counties of Essequibo and Demerara marched peacefully under the banner of the RPA, concentrating on the Central Bank, Guyana National Cooperative Bank, Scotia Bank, National Bank of Industry and Commerce and GBTI.

Of an estimated 14,000 rice farmers, 6,000 owe the bank at least $1.5Bln partly due to adverse flood and drought conditions dating back to 1996, along with a sharp drop in export prices.

The RPA wants the banks to restructure the loans at lower interest rates of between eight and 10 per cent over a long period instead of the 17.5 to 22 per cent.

In a proposal put to the bankers and the Government, rice farmers are also demanding that 25 per cent of the principal sum borrowed be written off, CMC reported. - (CHAMANLALL NAIPAUL)