Persaud had disclosed.Government is hoping to make 90

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By Leonard Gildarie Government’s regulatory body, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is attempting to recover more than $100 million in export revenues that have accumulated overtime.According to an advertisement published by the GRDB in the Kaieteur News edition of May 11, over 80 names including businesses and individuals contributed to the outstanding fees.The campaign to recover the fees is part of a total overhaul of the entire rice industry which includes a current ongoing process to seize unused lands in the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary/Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) area.Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, GRDB’s General Manager, Jagnarine Singh, revealed the commission charges dated back over ten years when the regulatory body would allow the export of rice and then collect their fees after the exporters would have received payments.However, that has all changed now and GRDB is collecting the commissions up front from businesses before the rice is exported.According to Singh, though, GRDB is already resigned to the fact that some of the $100M plus may not be recovered since some of the named businesses have declared bankruptcy or persons may have died.The outstanding fees significantly accumulated in the 1997 period when low rice price coupled with the fact that huge shipments were lost because of non-payments all contributed to GRDB not receiving their fees.In one case several exporters lost after rice to a Uruguay buyer was not paid for. Millions of US dollars were lost during that time, Singh said.Several big names in the rice industry were listed in the advertisement.There were several similar cases involving shipments to Haiti and Jamaica, among other places.With rice price touching all time high of US$1000 per metric tonne, and shortage on the world market, local farmers and exporters are scrambling madly to get a piece of the pie.Farmlands once before lying in waste are now prized commodity and there have been numerous reports of several Guyanese who are living abroad returning home and refusing to rent their rice lands, hoping to cultivate it themselves.In one case, a land owner on the West Coast reportedly seized a piece of land that had been used as a cricket field.In the MMA-ADA area, recently the Guyana government announced a stepped up campaign to seize hundreds of acres of state farmlands because of non-payment of rates.Holders of the state lands in that area in some cases owe in the vicinity of millions of dollars in Drainage and Irrigation rates.Several ads were published in the Kaieteur News editions in the last weeks and in the Saturday’s edition alone, hundreds of persons and groups were listed as owing and who may well see the state lands being seized.Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud had urged to the lease holders to pay out the outstanding amounts and admitted that several attempts were made to have the rent collected, but to no avail.A whopping 75% of lease-holders have been delinquent with their rates and rent, Persaud had disclosed.Government is hoping to make 90,000 acres of the MMA/ADA available for farming by the next crop later this year.Currently lease-holders are expected to pay $1500 per acre annually.The Authority warned that many of those occupying lands in the area have been sub-letting them, collecting “lucrative” rents but not paying the Drainage and Irrigation rates, resulting in huge sums being outstanding.“The Authority has been engaging them on a regular basis to resolve these matters, but they have failed/refused/neglected to do so,” the ads said.The Authority also warned that it has now commenced proceedings to re-possess and re-allocate these lands in time for the next crop.“These persons can still retain control of the plots by settling their accounts immediately,” the body said.Signaling that the Authority will favour farmers who are interested in utilizing the re-possessed lands, advertisement urged for interested farmers to apply in writing.The seizures of the lands would come somewhat of an irony since huge expanses were up to last year evidently lying in waste as lease-holders were either not in the country or not interested in rice farming.Meanwhile, Kaieteur News understands that contrary to earlier reports, a significant amount of rice is being smuggled to neighboring Suriname.With rice being bought by exporters locally for around US$700, opportunists are grabbing the more lucrative US$900 plus being paid in Suriname.Kaieteur News was told that boats are being loaded mainly in the nights and taken to Suriname.The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and agricultural officials are said to be on the lookout for rice being smuggled from Guyana.Minister Persaud in a recent press conference had acknowledged that government is aware that some rice being produced here are slipping through the borders, but had stopped short of naming any neighboring countries where it is being smuggled.That country is reportedly considering introducing an export quota for rice and beefing up security at its borders to prevent smuggling.Guyana has also tightened up on the exportation of rice in a bid to ensure that there is enough for the local market.Experts are estimating that globally, there is a rice shortage of around three million tonnes and many countries, including India have restricted rice exports in order to meet local demand.