Agriculture, Stockbreeding and Fisheries (LVV) Minister Parmanand Sewdien is sticking to his claim that during the previous season a little over 30,000 hectares of land was cultivated in Nickerie by the rice farmers. Last Saturday he placed a piece of paper with this number on a blackboard at a ceremony where 14 new tractors were handed over to 7 rice cooperative organizations and 1 vegetable cooperative organization. The minister clearly wanted  his message to be loud and clear. But the information on the sheet of paper did not provide a transparent oversight. Minister Sewdien recently brought the figure down from 30,000 to 28,000 hectares. After the farmers had checked the numbers, they made it clear that only 20,000 hectares of land had been used to plant rice. Many people and in particular the rice farmers were shocked to hear that the minister is once again claiming that over 30,000 hectares of land was used. Minister Sewdien even claimed that rice farmers managed to cultivate 35,000 hectares of land as a result of cooperation. He urged those who doubt his claim to head into the fields to check the numbers again…[+]