– NAREI proposes new method of farming to cope with flooding in region

REGION Five (Mahaica-Berbice) has often been referred to as the “agriculture capital” of Guyana, but part of the region’s bounty is under threat because of above-normal high tides, which have resulted in flooding in communities along the coast of Mahaicony.
Farmers and even the average resident of communities along the coast of Mahaicony were affected by flooding caused by above-normal high tides and a breach in the sea defence from Dantzig to Fairfield. Communities which were affected included Dantzig, Columbia, Glazier’s Lust, Fairfield, High Dam, Rebecca’s Lust and Planters’ Hall.

Although the water has receded in some communities, the damage has already been done, especially to arable land which was used for the cultivation of cash crops.

Representative of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Eon Sampson, said some 28 acres of arable land has been affected.

“As a result of the flooding, the salinity in the area has increased… the normal EC (Electrical Conductivity) in the soil is 0.9-0.95, but after the flooding we found that the EC increased to 1.1 to 1.5,” said Sampson. He was at the time briefing Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings and diplomats about the effects of the flooding, during a visit to the flood-affected communities on Friday.

The increased EC has been a challenge to farmers because the salinity has now rendered the soil infertile for cash-crop production.

According to Crop Watch, soil EC affects yields, crop suitability, plant-nutrient availability and soil microorganism activity such as emission of greenhouse gases and respiration. Excess salts hinder plant growth by affecting the soil-water balance.

“Before farmers can return to normal activities, soil needs to be amended by flushing, which is not an option right now…we have, however, explored other options such as raised boxes and shade houses,” said Sampson.

He said NAREI has made a proposal to the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) for farmers to be assisted with implementing raised boxes and building shade houses.

While those solutions are meant for the short term, Sampson said they are also used as interventions to help farmers build resilience for climate change.

He explained that the raised boxes are constructed at a level where farmers can conduct their activities easily and where water from flooding cannot reach.

“This solution is intended to get farmers back on their feet and we believe that it is the only suited intervention for farmers at this time,” said the NAREI representative.
Captain Salim October from the CDC had said due to flooding in Region Five, approximately 400 households and about 2,300 individuals were affected. In a breakdown of information on the impact of the disaster, the captain said 20 livestock farmers and about 65 cash crop farmers were affected.

“There was a high per capita impact in that area (Region Five) and that is what makes our response much more important as opposed to many other communities across the coastline that would have been impacted,” said October. He added that in addition to Region Five, Regions Two, Three, Four and Six were also affected to some extent.

He said while the population in Region Five is not too large, the per capita impact has been much higher. October said the effects of flooding in that area were severe, due to lack of maintenance of structures and the unresponsiveness of residents to early warnings.
The CDC, as such, advised residents to build empolderment and relocate their livestock so as to mitigate the effects if another disaster were to occur.