Corentyne dreading demise of...
(Image via google.com) financial loss at around 10 million dollars. These days he must move grass from one area to the next if he is to feed his cows.
President of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, Mohammed Raffik told Stabroek Business that the closure of the estates would have a dramatic economic impact on several communities. He estimates that around five thousand Corentyne workers could be displaced. The ripple effect is likely to be felt throughout the business community. Raffik himself is the owner of Raffik and Sons Construction Company, He too says that business is “slow.” Government, he explains, is the biggest spender in the construction industry though he says that most of his own contracts come from the private sector.
The Central Corentyne Chamber wants to see a “heavy dose” of state investment in Berbice. It is, its President says, the only initiative that will compensate for the closure of the estate estates. The investment option, Raffik says, will almost certainly have to be agriculture. “We do not have industries here in Berbice. Yes, we have oil and gas on the horizon but there is still need for food security, we still need to eat.” He further said that the government needs to invest in massive infrastructure.
Rice is an option though Raffik points out that the existing farmlands have become reduced in their yield on account of their two hundred-odd year service to the rice and sugar industries. The options may repose in citrus and a range of cash crops though attention will have to be paid to opening up the vast areas of virgin lands in Berbice though these must be supported by roads, drainage and irrigation. Raffik says that government’s support will also be anticipated in securing external markets for the expected yield.
Raffik, meanwhile, says that the Central Corentyne Chamber is desirous of sitting down with government to discuss “the way forward after sugar,” and, he adds, “the sooner the better.” There will, he says, be need for responses to challenges that will include the need to undertake re-training initiatives for displaced GuySuCo employees.
Stabroek Business, understands, meanwhile, that the Central Corentyne Chamber will be pinning much of their hopes on the success of the effort being made by one of the region’s most successful business enterprises, Nand Persaud & Company to acquire the inventory of the Skeldon estate. Raffik disclosed that he has also suggested to the Berbice rice magnate that consideration also be given to acquiring the assets of the Rose Hall estate. Here, the thinking would appear to be that there is still potential for the production of other commodities that include ethanol and fertilisers.