–NDIA, MMA to assess damage over the weekend; additional machines to be sent to assist with works

INSTANCES of heavy rainfall over the last few weeks have resulted in several rice farmers in Regions Five being affected by flooding. The constant heavy downpours have also caused several dams that were recently rehabilitated to once again become impassable, leaving many rice farmers looking to the government for urgent help.
After receiving several cries for help from a number of rice farmers in the Mahaicony area, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Friday afternoon met with a group of farmers to listen to their issues, and put systems in place to deliver some amount of relief to those who would have suffered losses.

Chatram Deoraj, 68, of Mahaicony River said that his field is currently under water, and sought assistance from the minister to provide an excavator to clear the channel so that his field can be drained. The farmer said that he has already lost some of his cultivation due to flooding, and has been using a pump to assist with drainage. Deoraj said that that system was not effective, due to the amount of water in his field, and the only way to remedy the situation is to have the channel cleared.
Another farmer, Deowan Kumar, also from the Mahaicony River, said that incomplete works on the access dam have delayed reaping.

“We have 100 acres of rice that is ready to be reaped, but the access dam is not finished as yet for the truck and the combine to come in and cut the rice,” Kumar said, adding: “A GRDB staff is here; they can tell you when the GRDB 12 paddy is ready to reap. It is 125 days right now; I know there were some hiccups with the machine that was supposed to come here, but I’m appealing for you to see what can be done to assist us.”
Ethan Bowen, a rice farmer from Strat Campbell, said that due to road works in the area, rice farmers are finding it difficult to access their fields.
“We have a farm-to-market road, and the street has asphalt. And after that, we have the dam. The contractor came to do the street; he excavated the street. The rains came, and now we cannot get access to the rice field, so we stand to lose rice there,” Bowen said. “Those works started over three weeks ago, and he hasn’t been coming to do much work; he would just come and throw some sand and leave. And we need something to be done, so that we can have access to our fields,” he added.

FARM-TO-MARKET ROADS
Farmers present also appealed for more farm-to-market roads.
After listening to what the farmers had to say, Minister Mustapha said that emergency works to repair the dams and clear clogged channels will commence over the weekend. The subject minister also promised that a team from the GRDB and NDIA will be in the area over the weekend to conduct an assessment of the works needed.
“We have two excavators in the area; I just spoke to my two technical officers to assess the amount of work needed in the area, and we’ll put another one or two machines here to complete the works. These works should be completed within a week,” Minister Mustapha said. “I’ve also instructed the GRDB and the NDIA to carry out an assessment over the weekend, and provide me with a report by Monday. I know some of you, your fields are under water, and we are working around-the-clock to put mechanisms in place to assist you. We recently started some work in the

‘Creek’, and we will be carrying out several other projects in the area as time progresses,” he added.
He also urged the farmers to be more responsible in their use of the structures during the rainy season.
“Although we know some of the problems affecting the farmers, you too, have to cooperate with us, because oftentimes some farmers operate selfishly. If you have your animals on the dams, or use heavy machinery to transport your paddy when the rains are already posing a threat to the dam, then other farmers would suffer. We will continue to work with you to see how best we can assist farmers to get their paddy out and minimise losses,” Minister Mustapha said.
Minister Mustapha also told farmers that the MMA and the NDIA will be examining the use of those machines in the area to ensure downtime is minimised, and that a technical team from the ministry will be returning to the area by next Tuesday to meet with residents and give a status report on the proposed works.
Minister Mustapha was accompanied by the ministry’s Director-General, Madanlall Ramraj and other senior officers from the ministry. (Ministry of Agriculture)