Agricultural success depends heavily on effective and efficient drainage and irrigation and therefore to continuously increase agricultural output it is imperative that drainage and irrigation systems are upgraded and maintained. Failure to do this will inevitably result in dismal agricultural production,  food shortages and food insecurity which could have devastating effects on people and national economies.
What transpired in Guyana for nearly three decades is a typical example of the devastating impact of neglect of drainage and irrigation which took place during the previous government which maintained itself in office by blatantly rigged elections. It was a sad and unfortunate period for agriculture in this country as production of sugar rice, cash crops, meat, eggs and milk dramatically plummeted. This was largely due to a lack of maintenance of the drainage and irrigation systems as well as the non-development of new systems.
As a result when the disastrous food import bans were implemented, local agricultural output simply could not meet the forced, steep increase in demand for local food items, consequently, as expected prices hit the roof. There were even periods when sugar was imported from Guatemala and rice from Vietnam, while chicken and eggs were imported from the U.S. It was indeed an extremely trying period for Guyanese when it came to putting food on their tables.
On assumption of office in 1992, the current government inherited an economy in tatters and a huge national debt of US$2.5 billion. Therefore funds were very scarce and their use had to be handled very cautiously; however, as the economy improved and the debt burden was halved, funds were more available and as such tremendous emphasis and focus on drainage and irrigation was returned, similar to what obtained under previous PPP- led governments of the 1950s and early 1960s.
Evidence of the government’s unswerving commitment to improving our drainage and irrigation systems is highly visible because today we are self-sufficient in food and overall agricultural production has significantly increased and has been diversified.
The improvement of the drainage and irrigation systems has not been limited to a particular region or district, but has been  countrywide. Only recently the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) commissioned a rehabilitated pump station at Victoria on the East Coast of Demerara, part of a larger $254 million project within the Golden Grove-Victoria area.
The project is part of the Agricultural Support Services Project (ASSP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, according to CEO of the NDIA Mr. Lionel Wordsworth.
He said the project represents the kind of investment that the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, is making in the agriculture sector. Wordsworth said that a similar project is to be executed at Black Bush Polder in Berbice.
He said too, that there will be a new sluice built at Buxton and a new pump station at Greenfield, both East Coast Demerara communities. The rehabilitation of three pump stations at Victoria, Craig Milne and Cane Grove cost a total of $161 million.
According to Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud:“We are setting the foundation for farmers to produce and take advantage of the opportunities. I want to give you a commitment that we will be receiving several excavators and bulldozers,” he said, adding that one of the bulldozers will be dedicated to clearing and developing farm-to-market access roads.
The minister is correct because the foundation of agricultural production and prosperity is proper drainage and irrigation and the government has certainly been doing a good job at laying it out. This is logical because the government is one that is deeply committed to agricultural development and food security.