NICKERIE – Several rice farmers from the Nickerie District have had enough of all of the problems in the rice sector and have therefore decided to call it quits. They are no longer cultivating rice and some of them have already sold their tractors.

 Manodj Kisoensing who is one of the rice farmers told Times of Suriname that he still has not received his compensation from the government although his name has been put on the list at a registration center. He had applied for compensation after having cultivated 9 hectares of land. After the BPN had checked everything twice, it became clear that all of the information  that the farmers had shared was based on facts. But Kisoensing and many other farmers are still waiting to receive the state compensation. Kisoensing made it clear that he has decided to call it quits. Vidjai Surjbalising who is also a rice farmer claimed that he only received SRD 50,000 although he had cultivated 125 hectares. 

 The rice farmers explained that they are caught in a vicious circle with no way out. For the past three seasons the farmers were hit by low income and high production costs especially when there wasn’t enough water and they therefore had to buy pumps. But these water pumps run on fuel which means that the farmers have to cover additional costs whenever they use these pumps. “The strange thing is that the exchange rates drop during the harvest but when the farmers cultivate the land the exchange rates go up. This means that they have to make expensive investments. The rice farmers work hard but do not make a profit. There are still farmers who are waiting for their compensation. If a growing number of rice farmers decide to call it quits, the rice sector could collapse. 

Ashwin Jagmohansing, spokesman of the BPN, pointed out that the rice farmers are going through difficult times due to the fact that the prices of the things that they need to produce rice are going through the roof…[+]