Engineers monitor conservancy level and ensure that pumps are working
AGRICULTURE Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has assured that, despite the current rainy weather conditions, every effort is being made to ensure that the drainage system, countrywide, is fully functional.
He made this observation at a press briefing yesterday in the Ministry of Agriculture’s boardroom, where he gave the assurance that there will be continuous monitoring of the situation.
“The meteorologists have indicated that we can expect the present weather, with some heavy rain interspersed with sunshine throughout tomorrow,  and that  there  will be less rainfall for the rest of the day until the end of the year,” he said.
According to Minister Ramsammy, the engineers from his  ministry  will be focusing on two important tasks during this rainy season: the monitoring of the water levels in the Lama Conservancy, and the monitoring of drainage pumps and sluices across the country.
“One of the things we are making sure of is the constant monitoring of the conservancy; I can assure you that this is continually being done and that all of the agriculture engineers were out Thursday night; they have been out and  in the fields throughout the East Coast, East Bank, in Region 2 (Pomeroon/ Supenaam), Region 3 (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara) , Region 6 (East Berbice/ Corentyne)  and Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice), and they were monitoring the levels in the canals and conservancy.”
Based on recent reports, the level of  water in the conservancy averages about 56.5 GDs (Georgetown Data). Though this level is adequate, Ramsammy said that his ministry will monitor the level to make sure that it does not get so high as to cause concern.
He also explained that, if there is need to “blow” water out of the conservancy, the Five Doors pump will be used to move the water into the Demerara River, as a first option of control.
Then drainage pumps have to be monitored.
“ We have seen pumps not working  because of a simple thing like diesel, and we are making sure  that all are fully loaded.  To my chagrin, at times there were pumps not operational because the fuel had not arrived on time… we are monitoring every pump to ensure that they are in working condition,” the minister said.
Ramsammy acknowledged that, while there was a problem with the Blankenburg sluice, in Region 2, due to silting, another pump is currently in operation there.

Farmer’s Concerns
Ramsammy noted too, that while the present weather condition is favourable to the rice farmers, as they are now cultivating their lands for the next crop, the sugar crop has been affected.
He explained, “The Ministry of Agriculture is presently dealing with two contrasting needs: rice farmers need the rain and water is necessary commodity at this time. However, the excessive rainfall has affected the sugar industry and the crop had to come to a premature end yesterday.”
It was hoped that some factories would grind until next week, but the inclement weather has affected the removal of the sugar cane from the fields, and this will undoubtedly affect the production target set by the Guyana Sugar Corporation for 2011.