THE pumping of water for irrigation of farmlands across Guyana is costing the government more than $1M daily, as current dry weather continues, Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy disclosed Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference in his ministry’s Regent Road, Georgetown, boardroom, he said the pumps are being operated at a time when there is no budget and that the Agriculture Ministry is expending money that it does not have.
He said he wanted to bring this to the fore because, at some point, persons may want to make a political story about it, that the ministry is spending without authority.
“I’m telling the nation and asking them what I should do? I could defer the work and wait till I have appropriated money from the Parliament but then we will lose all the rice because, by the time that happens, the rice would have been lost. And sugar would have been affected and cash crops would have been affected and more than a 100,000 farmers would have sunk into poverty. Therefore, I have to do what is necessary at this time,” Ramsammy maintained.
He said he must indicate to farmers that the Hydromet Service and the global modules are indicating that it will get worse before it gets better and he advised that, this would be the last week of the traditional rainy season. However, he noted that this has been a rainy season with no rain.
Driest months
He said this “rainy season” is followed by February and March which are, usually, two of the driest months of the year.
“The weather forecast and the climate models for February and March show a very dry season, no surprises that the dry season will be dry. What it means is that the scarcity of water and the struggle for water in the rice belt of Guyana will become worse,” he warned.
According to Ramsammy, this means that the Ministry of Agriculture, through its relevant authorities, will have to make interventions to supply water to the various areas.
He pointed out that farmers throughout Regions 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) to 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) are facing stress, at present, as it relates to irrigation water.
“So, when I say that some of them are in a relatively reasonable position, you shouldn’t assume that that means they have all the water they need. All that means is that they have some water that might be able to protect their crops. But nobody has an adequate amount of water at this time,” he insisted.
The minister stated that in Region 6, at Crabwood Creek, Black Bush Polder and the Numbers 52/74 front lands, farmers have a reasonable amount of water to sustain their crops but they could do with more.
However, he said that there are parts of the region that are under great stress and will, eventually, be subjected to some losses. These would include the front lands of Black Bush Polder, between Adventure and Number 43 village and the backlands of Numbers 52/74 that are parallel to the Canje River.
He advised that, over the last few days, some farmers have been getting water directly from the Canje Creek and he commended those who have concocted their own pumping facilities and are putting water into a makeshift canal.
Ramsammy said, in another few days, the ministry will help the farmers in that area to dig the canal so that they can have a direct flow from the Canje River to alleviate the problem.
Critically low
He pointed out that the Abary Block in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) has not been under strain because there is a conservancy there, but its level has now dropped to a critically low point and rationing will have to be put into place.
“Looking at the next eight weeks of dry weather, we have to make sure we conserve the water in the Abary Block main canal. This is going to create great stress for that area and we hope the farmers will cooperate because we have to ration that water,” he said.
Ramsammy also said that the front-land areas of Mahaicony are under great strain and that, whilst they have been getting water to those areas in small amounts, salt water has now reached farther along both the Mahaicony and Mahaica Rivers.
He stated that the main amount of water in the Mahaicony block is coming from the Mora Point pump, noting that the first point, which is the Hyde Park sluice, cannot be used to take water into the system, because it would be salt water.
“So the Mora Point represents a kind of saviour for this area but the salt water is rapidly reaching that point and I’m keeping my fingers crossed and for all those who can pray they should pray that the salt water does not reach Mora Point, because, if it reaches, we have to disable the pump,” he stated.
For that reason, the minister said, over the last two weeks, the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) have been putting in place a canal connection in both Mahaicony and Mahaica linking the Mahaica and Mahaicony Rivers deeper down where there is still sweet water so that, that water can be brought into the irrigation system.
Ramsammy said, though, that this is expensive work and it is going to cost the government more than $40M to put those linkages in place.
In addition, he said that, thus far in Essequibo, farmers have been able to access water from the Ituribisi Creek and the Tapakuma Conservancy.
Ramsammy said both those waterways are now at critically low levels and, over the last week, they have had to start 24 hours pumping from the Dawa pumps.
Meanwhile, Minister within the Agriculture Ministry, Mr. Alli Baksh and Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA, Mr. Lionel Wordsworth, last Saturday visited farmers in Leguan and Wakenaam to discuss possible solutions to their water woes.
The ministry has established a multi-sector task force to deal with the irrigation issues and this team will be monitoring the situation on a daily basis.