H. NAUTH and Sons General Engineering Contractors has won the $148M contract for constructing drains, canals, access dams and hydraulic structures for the Rural Agricultural Infrastructural Development project (RAID) aback Ithaca, West Bank Berbice.

This was disclosed by the Ministry of the Presidency recently. Residents of the community will benefit from new drainage and irrigation infrastructure, plus land-preparation equipment and technical advice which will help to boost agricultural production on 900 acres of hitherto unproductive land and improve livelihoods in the village.
The opening up of unused fertile lands aback Ithaca is being made possible under a loan granted to the Government of Guyana by the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF).
Buxton, Triumph and Mocha villages are the three small-scale farming communities in Region Four which will benefit from similar D&I systems and agricultural support under the scheme.

A reliable source at the Ministry of Agriculture has disclosed that work on the infrastructure for 900 acres of farmlands is expected to begin by month-end and the project should be completed in eight months. The works to be done include: land-clearing; construction of secondary drainage and irrigation systems; rehabilitation of access dams and the establishment of pasture lands and farm plots.

The beneficiaries at Ithaca are residents organised under the umbrella of the co-operative movement. Residents will utilise the drainage and irrigation systems and access dams for large-scale commercial agricultural development, which will enhance the economic empowerment of the village and its environs.

The CDF was established under Article 158 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas “for the purpose of providing financial or technical assistance to disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors.”

It is the centrepiece of the regime to address the disparities among the member states of CARICOM which may result from the implementation of the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME). The agreement pertaining to the operation of the fund was signed in July 2008 and the CDF began operating on August 24, 2009.