For quite some time now, we have been bombarded with warnings of global warming, climate change and rising ocean levels.
Whether we agree or not, the day will come when these natural phenomena will unleash its wrath upon us. Because of these unstoppable factors, we should not wait on crunch time before employing possible provisions to at least help cushion the effects of all or any of these hazards, when they are ready to descend upon  humankind.
Already we are being warned on regular bases of the perils of these encounters, chief among which are rising prices and food shortages. These could lead to untold cases of starvation in several parts of the world, moreso in those countries that are heavily dependent on imports to feed their peoples.
While other countries would be hard-pressed to find adequate food to feed hungry mouths, we in Guyana could be in a slightly better position, but by no means a position of strength, unless we start taking evasive action and make certain interventions which are necessary for future survival.
Indeed at the moment, several factors weigh heavily against us, including the fact that our entire coastland is below sea level and the erratic weather patterns that we experience these days. Be that as it may, flooding which is caused by incessant rains and overtopping of the sea in some parts have now become a dress rehearsal that has almost been perfected because of the many encounters we have witnessed.
It is not difficult for us to recall that only “yesterday” large stretches of our coastland were inundated, and millions of dollars worth of agricultural crops and livestock were devastated. But learning from past experiences, on each new occasion, we are able to get on top of serious situations very quickly, and reduce seemingly ugly situations into areas of relative comfort.
Our economy is based heavily on agriculture, especially sugar and rice, which bring in a substantial amount of foreign exchange by way of export earnings. Last year for instance, while sugar brought in $50.1M, rice made a whopping contribution of $169M; added to these are other agricultural crops such as vegetables and fruits, fish, shrimp and fish products which all find themselves on the export market.
We make this point to illustrate that while it looks as if we could comfortably feed ourselves in times of global difficulties, we must not be complacent but instead be on the ready to take corrective measures in areas which we might have left to chance.
We want to cite the recent, incessant rainfall which caused wide-scale flooding in some agricultural areas. It is good that the government recignises the importance of the agricultural sector, by deploying pumps and other heavy-duty machines including excavators in those areas, and before you knew it, the flood situation came under control, but not before leaving a trail of destruction.
But the good news is that since the areas have returned to normalcy, Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has told the nation that disbursement of flood relief and planting supplies are in progress. This is good for our farmers and good for the people of this country as a whole.
Thanks to the incessant rainfall which we experience from time to time, we are able to establish the areas in the country which are vulnerable to flooding. Therefore, as long as our experts could identify the reasons for the predicament and make the appropriate recommendations, if the problems do not become history, they would be greatly minimised.
We also believe that the experts and our government should also heed the global warnings while they are effecting measures to combat flooding, especially in the agricultural areas. We should not wait on the eleventh hour to heed those very important global warnings.