— temporary measures in place to remedy drainage and irrigation issues
By Naomi Parris
WHILE many were celebrating and enjoying the festivities of the Christmas season, many livestock and cash-crop farmers in Black Bush Polder, Region Six, were counting their loses as a result of heavy showers and drainage and irrigation issues in the area.
Devika Lekhram, a livestock farmer from Mibicuri, told the Guyana Chronicle that she lost three fowls, seven chickens and 10 ducks within the last week due to the flooding.
The woman, who appeared to be distressed at the time of the interview, stated that she has suffered a great lost and such has put her business and livelihood in a setback during the Christmas season. However, at the time of the interview, the woman could not give an estimate of her loses.
Anita Mohabir from Yakasuri shared a similar plight. She stated that she lost approximately 50 baby chicks during the recent floods which have also put her business in a setback.
“Me get 100 fowl chicken but 50 dead out from that, all me duck dead, the whole back of me place flood out.”
Thakoor Persaud, a cash crop farmer, explained that he too has suffered losses due to the floods and poor drainage and irrigation systems within the area.
The man noted that even with very little rain, the area tends to flood tremendously, damaging the crops and livestock of the farmers.
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, visited the areas affected by the floods to commence an assessment to address the issues of poor drainage and irrigation.
According to the minister, the Black Bush Polder area is like a basin surrounded by highlands which makes it prone to flooding, especially during the rainy seasons.
“A number of areas have been affected, especially Joanna and Yakusari and, to an extent, Mibicuri. Farmers have complained that they have lost many cash crops and, as a result of that,I am conducting a survey tomorrow. The NAREI [National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute] and GLDA [Guyana Livestock Development Authority] will be doing a survey to see the extent of the loss.”
Minister Mustapha stated that having received a number of reports from farmers in the area of tremendous loss of livestock and cash crops, he sought to visit the area immediately with teams from the relevant agencies in the ministry to begin loss assessments and provide remedies for the issues that were brought to his attention.
“This visit is as a result of reports that I received that cash crop farms and some residential areas [were] under water, so I decided to come here to see first-hand what is taking place.”
However, in the meantime, the minister explained that a few temporary measures have been set in place to monitor the water levels in the area.
“In the meantime, what we have done, we have put some mechanisms in place to have effective and fast draining, whereas, we will ensure that they have 24 hour drainage in here with the pump and the sluice. Also, we have taken on some people in the community to monitor the sluices and the pumps so that they can have maximum drainage,” he explained.
The NDIA has been instructed to send machinery in the area to conduct emergency cleaning of the drains and canals.