THERE HAS been much talk about the recent rainfall around the country.
While I agree that many areas were affected by the heavy downpours, I still believe that much was done to mitigate these conditions.
However, I would like to comment on an article titled ‘Grow More farmers reap less at flooded spillweir -says gov’t has broken promises’ in the Stabroek News, dated Thursday, March 17, 2011 which contains a number of inaccuracies.
Let me begin by saying that the ‘Grow More’ food campaign has transformed the agriculture sector significantly, since farming is now seen as feasible to the rural farmers.
As the article rightly noted, many Guyanese and foreign investors have returned to these shores to do farming, which is as a result of proper mechanisms put into place by the Ministry of Agriculture and its agencies to develop, improve and expand the agriculture sector.
While I sympathize with the farmer for the losses he may have suffered, I still feel that much was done by the government to improve the drainage and irrigation systems in the Canal Polder.
What I have learnt from my fellow farmers is that the Canal Polder only recently benefitted from a whole host of works as a direct result of the implementation of the government’s Agriculture Export Diversification Project, a project that focused on development of this key farming area.
The loss of the farmer is felt, but at the same time, I learnt through a farmers’ meeting that government has hired a consultancy firm that will be advising it on an alternative canal to the Demerara River, that would significantly improve drainage in the farmer’s immediate environs.
I am sure that the farmer is also aware that some areas in Region Three experienced in excess of eight inches of rainfall resulting in some low lying areas being affected.
Farmers have benefitted significantly from investments in agriculture, and this fact cannot be disputed, as in Region Three, there have been increased acreages of rice, private sugar farming and cash crops.
Just last year, rice recorded the highest output ever, and there was a significant increase in cash crop farming.
In particular, the Canals Polder area has in fact become an agricultural hub in the country, with a large amount of farmers making a livelihood as well as increasing their financial positions through support from the government.
In fact, government has invested heavily in the agriculture sector in comparison to the previous government who contributed to the downward spiral of the sector.
As a farmer, I felt compelled to write this letter since may farmers would have been affected by the recent rainfall but this does not mean that government has neglected those areas.
What we as farmers need to recognize is that climate change is a real threat and we must take measures to assist the authorities in alleviating these conditions. Let us not be complacent in our views since government has transformed our communities to what they are today.