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The Ministry of Agriculture has expressed its unhappiness with the “seeming inaction” of the police and the “unhelpful position” taken by the magistracy regarding the non-payment of over $400M to farmers by the Mahaicony Rice Limited (MRL).During a press conference Saturday at his Regent Street office, Minister Robert Persaud, also disclosed that the company which operates mills in the three counties, would not be issued any operating licence this year unless the monies are paid.MRL in the first crop of 2010 had purchased paddy from a number of farmers but the monies remain outstanding.Under the Rice Factories Act, which regulates the industry, the government through the Guyana Rice Development Board, has the authority to inspect MRL’s records for review.“In this regard, therefore, the cooperation of MRL’s senior officers is paramount and integral to this objective. Efforts to establish the whereabouts of these senior personnel have been frustrated by the dismal failure of the members of the Guyana Police Force to locate important persons such as the General Manager, Ms. Taramattie Ghanie,” Persaud disclosed.Farmers had even resorted to newspaper advertisements asking for Ghanie to step forward.Recently, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had advised that MRL’s accountant, Ishwar Singh, be charged for refusing to allow GRDB permission to inspect the books of the company.“Inexplicably, the presiding magistrate denied the application by the police for an arrest warrant to be issued to ensure that Singh attends court. Singh is yet to attend court and the legal process continues to be frustrated,” the Minister said in a prepared statement.“The Ministry, on behalf of the affected rice farmers,Charles Aranguiz Chile Jersey, calls on the owner of MRL, Jai Beni, to do the decent thing and pay the farmers who are owed close to US$2M for paddy purchased in the first crop of 2010. This sore issue is like a blotch on an otherwise thriving and expanding rice sector.”The Minister pointed out that last year, production reached one of its highest points of more than 360,000 tonnes and exports in excess of 335,000 tonnes, another record breaking level.“Other millers are also frustrated by this uncaring position of this company which is creating a negative stigma. For me, a continuation of this type of behaviour is akin to daylight robbery.”According to Persaud, his Ministry is cognizant of the patience and restraint exhibited by the rice farmers in the face of the “continuing arrogance and disrespect shown by MRL. The Ministry, however, wishes to remind both the Police Force, as the enforcement agency, and the Magistracy, as the adjudicating agency, that in matters related to the public interest greater attention, urgency and commitment must be employed.”MRL currently has five court cases over the outstanding monies, with the GRDB and the Guyana Rice Producers Association meeting with Berbice and Essequibo farmers to find solutions, the official said.Last year, GRDB had allowed MRL to purchase paddy for sale to Venezuela but the proceeds were placed in a special account not accessible by the company, and by this week, some farmers will start receiving monies, it was disclosed.Already for this year, almost 90% of the first crop has been sown and the Ministry is ill-prepared to tolerate a recurrence of last year’s incident, Persaud said.Fielding questions on why MRL is not paying, the Minister noted that from all indications, farmers sold their first crop of last year which was milled by the company and then sold mainly to Europe.So where is the money?According to Persaud, that is the million-dollar question for Jai Beni, the owner of MRL.Authorities are convinced that an estimated 40% hold on the market by MRL has greatly diminished with investors even now “interested” in the assets of the company.Persaud emphasized that the industry is now protected to the point that no single investor can “hold it at ransom”.