AS farmers across the country continue to battle with dry weather conditions, the Ministry of Agriculture last Saturday reached out to rice farmers in Wakenaam to discuss possible solutions to the crisis they are currently facing with irrigation water.

Minister within the Agriculture Ministry Ali Baksh and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth, along with an engineer and a representative from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) met with the frustrated farmers at the Wakenaam Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) building.
The farmers were generally cooperative with the ministry and each other, and at the end of a very fruitful discussion, it was decided that two three-foot tubes will be deployed to the area to assist in the smooth flow of fresh water to farmlands on the west and eastern sides of the island.
The minister emphasized that the Agriculture Ministry has a growing responsibility to perform with climate change in mind.
“Many people don’t really and truly take it seriously, how it would affect countries like ours. We’re a low lying country, we’re an agriculture based country and we have agriculture in different regions in our country,” he stated.
He added that not only are rice farmers affected by such issues, but also farmers of other crops. However, he noted that rice is one of the most significant industries in Guyana, especially since acquiring Venezuela’s market, which is currently the biggest importer of Guyana’s rice, it is import to sustain the industry and maintain these markets.
Though Baksh acknowledged that sourcing water from the low lands to the high areas is a costly exercise, he stressed that the ministry remains committed to its responsibilities and will do whatever it can to help.
Meanwhile, NDC Chairman Zahir Khan advised that, coming out of a recent meeting with farmers, they are proposing that a culvert be built in the Sans Souci area. In addition, he also proposed that dams be cut in various areas to allow easy flow of water to rice lands in the east.
During an interview with the state media earlier this month, Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy had disclosed that the ministry is facing an emergency with irrigation water for farmers across the country.
He had stated that the Ministry of Agriculture established a multi-sector task force which will be monitoring the situation on a daily basis and teams have been deployed across affected areas to provide feedback.
Invitations were extended to the Ministries of Local Government, Public Works, Home Affairs and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to be a part of this task force.
In addition, Ramsammy had disclosed that he reached out to Shadow Ministers of Agriculture from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC), Dr. Rupert Roopnarine and Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan respectively, and both had promised to cooperate fully and lend their support to the ministry.