Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha has accused former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan of being so disconnected from the common man that he cannot make sensible recommendations for their livelihood.
This retort comes on the heels of Jordan’s “nonsensical” suggestion that marginal rice farmers should consider exiting the rice industry.
Jordan’s view, published in Stabroek News on October 2, drew sharp criticism from the agricultural community, government officials and other stakeholders.
During a telephone interview with Guyana Standard, Minister Mustapha chided Jordan’s “selective memory, distortions, and thinly veiled political attacks” on both the PPP/C administration and the country’s rice farmers. Mustapha described Jordan’s position as one rooted in a cold, technocratic mindset disconnected from the reality of rural livelihoods.
Mustapha emphasized that the backlash to Jordan’s comments was not due to any misinterpretation, but because they revealed a fundamental misunderstanding of the role agriculture plays in Guyana’s development.
“No amount of revisionism can hide the fact that Mr. Jordan’s comments, suggesting marginal farmers should exit rice production, struck a nerve across the agricultural community. Not because the public misunderstood him, but because his statements reflect a cold, technocratic mindset disconnected from the reality of rural livelihoods,” Mustapha said.
Challenging Jordan’s claim that support for rice farmers represents a misuse of public funds, the Minister said such a view portrays a lack of understanding or concern for the critical role agriculture plays not only in food security but also in national development, rural employment, and economic diversification.
Mustapha outlined the Irfaan Ali-led government’s stance noting that it is not in the business of abandoning farmers whether they are large-scale operators or farmers with small and medium sized holdings.
“In a time of global market volatility, it is precisely the job of a responsible government to provide stability, not instability. To offer support, not shrink from duty. That’s what leadership looks like,” he noted.
Addressing Jordan’s attempt to recast the APNU+AFC’s record in agriculture, Minister Mustapha presented “a few hard facts.”
He noted that the PetroCaribe and Panama rice deals were allowed to collapse under the Coalition government, without a contingency or plan for farmers, leaving them unpaid, unprotected, and abandoned. He also pointed to the Coalition Government’s failure to secure new international markets for rice, despite numerous promises.
Further, he emphasized that, while Jordon served as Finance Minister, input costs rose, subsidies were cut, and agricultural extension services were scaled back or mismanaged.
While affirming the government’s support for crop diversification and innovation, Mustapha said the PPP/C Government does not support taking rice farmers to the “edge of the cliff”.
“What we do not support is forcing vulnerable farmers to the edge of the cliff, labeling their continued existence in the rice industry as ‘misguided’ or uneconomical. That’s not policy, that’s elitism.” he noted.
He further explained that any move to support farmers in exploring alternative crops must come with investment, training, access to markets, and land tenure security, which the PPP government is actively undertaking.
The Minister also addressed Jordan’s statement about the Rural Agricultural Infrastructure Development (RAID) Project, calling it “ironic,” noting that many of the projects initiated under that programme were either poorly implemented or politically skewed, lacking transparency and failing to deliver real results.
“The current administration is rebuilding and retooling these efforts to serve all communities equitably not along partisan or ethnic lines.” he explained.
Minister Mustapha also took the opportunity to highlight the tremendous progress made by the government over the last five years.
“Our government has invested in drainage and irrigation, seed research, flood control, fertilizer support, and marketing channels across the country, from Leguan to Black Bush Polder. That’s not propaganda, that’s performance.”
Minister Mustapha further affirmed, “The rice farmers of this country deserve more than academic detachment. They deserve tangible, consistent support. And that is what this government will continue to provide. So, while Mr. Jordan returns to his ‘couch,’ this government will continue to be in the fields, on the ground with our farmers, building resilience and creating opportunity, not excuses.”
