…concerns of villages addressed at stakeholders meeting
REGION 9 (Upper Takutu/ Upper Essequibo) is recovering from the massive impacts of the worst flood in decades and the hundreds affected are pleased with the action-oriented approach taken by government in the response effort. On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud and a technical team addressed the concerns of the affected villages in the region during a stakeholders’ recovery workshop at the Lethem Amerindian Hostel. The team was also joined by Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai and representatives from her ministry.

MARKET FOR PRODUCE
One of the main issues raised was the availability of agricultural produce that can be supplied by villages that were not severely hit by the floods to villages in need.
The Toshao from Katoonarib disclosed that the village had over 30,000 pounds of cassava for sale.
“We are willing to supply the market,” he said.
The minister noted that some of the produce will be bought by his ministry.
Persaud stated that this move not only makes it easier for the ministry to support affected communities, but it also turns back financial resources where it is most needed.
“We are not going to bring these things from other regions. We will source what we can here,” he posited.
A representative from the Aranaputa Valley stated too that his village has some 800 pounds of peanut seeds available to assist other villages to return to productive activity.
Again the minister pledged to take some of the produce from the community.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Another major need voiced by the stakeholders was the need for increased presence of technical officers from the Agriculture Ministry, in particular crops and livestock extension officers.
The Toshao from Sand Creek pointed out that there is need for more technical expertise in his area, particularly since agriculture is using savannah lands.
A village councillor from Baitoon noted that the village’s livestock are threatened and the area is in need of a veterinarian.
“We need the officers to visit as soon as possible,” the councillor said.
Similar concerns came from Aranaputa Valley, Nappi, Karasabai, Parishara, Massara and Kumu, among others.
Officers at the meeting were assigned to visit the areas as requested by the village representatives and Minister Persaud stressed that serving Guyanese people will remain the current administration’s first priority. 

FURTHER STEPS
Persaud made it clear that the concerns that were not addressed will be taken back to Cabinet where the relevant ministries will be enlightened and action will be coordinated.
Some of the unaddressed concerns include:
* The need for the construction of bridges, to be addressed by the Ministry of Public Works;
* The need for the development of a new housing scheme to move many of the affected persons to higher ground, and the need for water tanks to store drinking waters, both matters for the Ministry of Housing and Water; and
* The need for tools, such as power saws, to assist in the villages’ economic activities, which will be addressed by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.
Many of the concerns raised were provided solutions.
The requests from the affected villages were centred on their return to productive activity. As such, village representatives made requests for cassava mills to process cassava, containers and empty bags to store the processed cassava, farming tools, planting materials for cash crops in particular, and cheap fertilizer for crops.
In addition to addressing the concerns of villages, Wednesday’s workshop was used to train those in attendance in climate smart agriculture, as well as to facilitate the distribution of agriculture supplies that were requested by those affected. The supplies included spray cans to address pest problems, planting materials, storage containers and cassava mills.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has made it clear that some $50M is being spent in the relief effort and stressed that no resources will be spared in supporting the flood hit region.