Help on the way for Greenwich Park farmers
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha listening to the concerns of the farmers from Greenwich Park, Region Three (Adrian Narine photo)
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha listening to the concerns of the farmers from Greenwich Park, Region Three (Adrian Narine photo)

–Min. Mustapha gives word that dams will be rehabilitated, grading system updated

RESIDENTS and farmers of the East Bank Essequibo village of Greenwich Park were, on Tuesday, assured of a speedy government intervention after they complained bitterly about a number of problems that affect them. Chief among their myriad concerns were the lack of maintenance of their access dams and drainage and irrigation services, as well as the need for a better grading system in their community. Their concerns were raised during a community outreach led by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha.
The thing that bothered Susan Mohese the most was the poor grading she’s been receiving of late for her paddy. She also told the minister that the community was in dire need of an all-weather road. “The grading of our paddy is being done very badly,” Mohese said. “We are getting very bad grades; grades that we have never seen before. Sample ‘A’, Sample ‘C’ and those kinds of things; very low grades. Also, the koker at Philadelphia is not being opened regularly. And because it is not being opened regularly, we are getting lots of flooding in the area.
“Right now, if you check, the dams are flooded. We are also requesting the construction of an all-weather road; we have 13 dams, and we need some help with that, because of the mud that keeps coming out with the tractors. It’s very dangerous for people on the roads.”

Another farmer, who opted to speak on condition of anonymity, alleged that some farmers in the area were damaging the dams for their own benefit.
“We got a problem in ‘Sarah’; in 1989 they rehabilitate this place, and due to the rehabilitation, the water raise, which is very good. But the farmer dem gone up now, ‘bout two mile more with the rice; it nah got dam fuh hold de water. Dey dig out a revetment and put a box; dey put a bridge pon top de box, and lef de box at de bottom,” the farmer said.
The Chairman of the Water Users Association for the area is calling for a structured programme to be implemented to oversee the maintenance of the dams and canals in the area.
“What I would like to see is a work programme laid out; we’d like to see a structured programme, so that dams and canals would be maintained on a regular basis,” he said.
The man also told the minister that there were several heavily-forested dams in the area that were badly in need of cleaning, but the job cannot be done manually.

“We are tasked with cleaning a number of canals within the rice and the other-crops areas, Comrade Minister. That’s one aspect; cleaning of the canals is another,” he said, adding: “Some of these dams, especially in the Naamryck area, are heavily forested. If you have contractors cleaning the dams, there’s no way any ranger could have access to these dams to verify that these works are being done in these canals; they are very bad.” Responding to the issues raised by the farmers, Minister Mustapha said that he will work along with the farmers to implement a system to ensure that they benefit from a proper grading system at the mills, and to clear and maintain all the dams and canals in the area.
“I’ll make a commitment here today; all the dams in the area, we’ll rehabilitate them. We’ll develop a work programme, and we’ll do the dams so that you can bring out your produce,” he said, adding: “But we will ensure we do the works where the works are needed; we’ll try to do as much drainage and irrigation work as possible. We are buying new excavators, and we’ll send those excavators into the community.”

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