– return to former glory with help of the RDC, NDIA

IN years gone by, it was sort of the bread basket of Linden; one of the bauxite town’s agricultural hot spots, so to speak.

But those days are long gone! Or so one would have thought, as the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in collaboration with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is hell-bent on returning the community of Dallawalla, located approximately 60 miles up the Demerara River, to its former glory; to revitalise farming in the community, in an effort to push food security in Region 10.

On Tuesday, Regional Chairman Renis Morian and a team from the RDC, as well as NDIA Chief Executive Officer Frederick Flatts and a team of engineers paid a visit to Dallawalla to assess the situation there, and found scores of abandoned farms, some still with crops ready to harvest.

Morian said that because the area was neglected by the former administration, the farmers abandoned their homesteads many years ago, when a particulary bad flood threatened to wipe them out.

Today, the NDIA is willing to help those farmers put the past behind them and make a fresh start.

And the RDC is not too far behind, as it will be making a public call for all those farmers who once worked the land in the area to return so as to benefit from all the help it has to give.

Summing up the situation, the regional chairman said:
“Today, along with the NDIA, we are here to look at the main issues, one of which is that nothing was done with drainage and irrigation over the years…
“So we are looking to see what we can do to resuscitate, from the level of the RDC; we will call a meeting with those farmers who once farmed in that area to see who are willing to go back, because they have suffered losses.
“The last farmer there in 2016, lost about 400 loads of plantain and banana as a result of flooding, because there was no drainage and irrigation.”

GETTING THERE
Dallawalla can either be accessed by boat through the Demerara River, via the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, or the Blue Berry Hill Housing Scheme “Buck Town” access road.
The community was once a thriving one, thanks to the presence of Omai Gold Mines, which had a small operation and wharf there. A few families and farmers still reside there today.
Sadly, not only has Dallawalla been affected by a scaling down in farming, but so too have other agricultural hots spots in the region.

Morian explained that the RDC is pursuing various avenues, and looking into other communities in an effort to restore agricultural development in Region 10. But for this to be effective, the process has to start from the ground level.
There has always been the issue of food security in the region, a matter that needs serious attention since 70% of its demand for food is being supplied by other regions.
In addition to establishing proper drainage and irrigation in agricultural hot spots, the RDC is also looking at rendering assistance with seeds,tools and technical support. “NAREI would have indicated that they are lending a 100% support to agriculture in Region 10, and NAREI produces quality seeds,” Morian said. “So, with NAREI involved, we see that kind of support coming on board.”

FOUR-PRONGED APPROACH
While the RDC has four programmes that have been budgeted for, these being Public Works, Education, Health and Administration, Morian is calling for agriculture to be added to the list, so that greater financial and technical support can be given to the development of this important sector in the region.
With reference to the famed 2005 flood, where the other regions were unable to meet Region 10’s demands, Morian said even the region itself was unable to meet that demand, which caused food prices to spiral, and surprisingly affected not only the lower class but the middle class as well.

But alas, since then, he said, very little has been done to remedy the situation and as such, he is afraid that were a similar national disaster to occur, the region would be left in the same boat.

And that’s why it is of paramount importance to him that much more is pushed into agriculture from the level of the RDC.

“We are petitioning the government, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Communities to have agriculture to come as a programme within the Regional Democratic Council budget for 2019,” he said, adding that the RDC will be working with farmers to plant continuously, so as to build the confidence of residents. Systems will also be put in place, he said, to have a farmers’ market adjacent to the Wismar Municipal Market on Burnham Drive on weekends,as a start to gaining the residents’ confidence.

“If we can get a steady flow of food every weekend, that will help to build the residents’ confidence that they could look internally for that food supply,” he said.
He is also calling on all stakeholders and local leaders to come on board to holistically push agricultural production in Region 10.