Ramsammy outlines steps to avoid La Nina problems
AGRICULTURE Minster Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has said that his ministry is working closely with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to ensure that canals, sluices and other such systems are maintained and working effectively during the May/June rainy season. He told a media briefing, last Friday,that the Ministry is concerned about areas that are vulnerable to flooding, like Canal Number One, Black Bush Polder and Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary.
Ramsammy said those areas are highly threatened by even small amounts of rainfall which can cause severe floods and major damage for farmers of crops such as pepper and the shrubbery type of vegetables.
The Minister said another major concern is for rice farmers who are now reaping their cultivations. He said if dams are washed away, problems can be created for planters to gain access to clear the remaining cultivated land.
He said  La Nina phenomenon, which he had warned about earlier this year, is continuing in Guyana and the rain never did stop even though it seemed so from some ends.
According to him, reports from the sugar industry disclosed that the condition had a major impact on the production and forced operations to come to a halt.
He pointed out that, almost half the days in the month of April or more than 50 percent of every day in that month was affected, due to rain in the cultivation areas.
“Almost half of the days were lost to the sugar industry, because, once it rains, even a little bit, the activities that take place at the back, like the cutting of cane, loading of cane, stopped, which meant that the factories were affected and couldn’t function as they should have,” Ramsammy reported.
He said, unfortunately, there is no good news for the farmers across Guyana since the advisory from the Hydromet Office has shown that there will be a significant amount of rainfall during the beginning of this month, which may even continue for the rest of May.

Rainy May
“In fact, the rain could intensify. We expect May to be a rainy May but most of the rain from May should occur in the first two weeks, so this week and next week should be the rainiest part of the month,” he offered.
Ramsammy said the present weather conditions get even more complicated because Guyana is currently in its spring tide season.
Turning his attention to the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC), he said collaborative efforts have led to success in maintaining it in such a way to accommodate the water from this rainy season without it reaching its capacity.
Ramsammy said, since the beginning of the rainy spell, the Ministry has been in close contact with the NDIA to ensure that all pumps are working including those operated by the Georgetown Municipality.
“All of our pumps are in working condition. I have instructed the NDIA to visit the municipality pumps. As you know, in November and December and in January and February, four of the five municipal pumps were not in working condition and we don’t want the May/June rain to find these pumps not working,” he said.
Additionally, the Minister said he has mandated the team at the NDIA to work with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCO) to also maintain those pumps, and reports coming back to him have stated that all are in working order, except for one which is located at Anchorville, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice.
However, he noted that works have already commenced to rectify the problem and it should be up and running shortly.
A part had to be fabricated and that has been done and that pump is expected to be in operation soon.
“We are trying to keep on top of that situation and I expect that, even if the rains continue to fall, we should have avoided major problems but we will continue to monitor the situation,” Ramsammy stated.