Jose Mai Says Fresh Injection of Capital Can Save Farmers

Jose Mai

Parliamentarian Jose Abelardo Mai says the Government must pay attention to the farmers’ plights. Ignoring such issues can have detrimental effects on not only the economy but also on households, says Mai. He adds that there must be a fresh injection of capital in the industry so that farmers can bounce back.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Area Representative, Orange Walk South

“The last time we had a drought in the northern districts there was a supplementary budget passed. Unfortunately only twenty thousand dollars of that was allocated for the farming community who loss crops due to the drought. This is not the first year that farmers are losing. A bounce back is very difficult because for every five years that farmers are producing, three years are loss. So you produce good one year and that year pays for the year that went wrong. The following year lose the following year you gain and then you payback what you owe. The accessibility to finance then becomes a problem because the lending institutions don’t want to lend any money. You already owe me for last crop. How will you pay me now? What guarantees are crop? So bouncing back is very difficult. There ought to be some kind of fresh injection of capital at low interest rates so that the farmers can survive.”