HEAVY rainfall in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), which started just after midnight yesterday morning and  continued non-stop for several hours, has been welcomed.
By dawn, several low-lying areas were flooded but the showers brought joy to some rice farmers and cash crop planters who had already ploughed their fields.
The entire region had, over the past weeks, experienced severe dry weather which caused hundreds of acres with young rice plants to perish.
Several farms, mostly in Pomeroon, were also affected while those who cultivate cash crops watched helplessly as their farms/gardens withered in the sun.
The arrival of the much needed rain will see an increase in agricultural activities, in terms of preparation of rice fields for sowing and resumed cultivation of farms and gardens.
The Regional Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) Department was also looking forward to the rain to fill conservancies, canals and lakes, so that 32,500 acres that will be cultivated with rice can be adequately irrigated.
Farmers in upper and lower Pomeroon are also glad for the fresh river water because what was there before could not be used for farming, washing or cooking, because of the salt content.
Many householders are seizing the opportunity, as well, to plant seeds in kitchen gardens.