— announces 55th Independence seed distribution drive

AGRICULTURE Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, and Cabinet colleagues, on Thursday, met with residents of East Ruimveldt to discuss government’s proposed community development initiatives that will benefit them and surrounding communities.
The visit came as a follow up visit by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, who had met with residents to discuss their involvement in the proposed works to enhance the community’s appearance ahead of Guyana’s 55th Independence Anniversary next Wednesday.
During the meeting, Minister Mustapha told residents that efforts would be made to ensure they benefitted from proper drainage.
“From the Ministry of Agriculture’s level, we will try our best to ensure you have proper drainage in this community. These works will be carried out with machines and manually. We will engage the residents in the community. Those persons who are involved in the project will be paid and they will also be involved in something to beautify their community. We will do whatever it takes to assist you. If we have to bring in the small machines to clean the interlocking drains, we will do it. Climate change continues to affect us all and areas like this are prone to flooding. This is why government thought it necessary to improve the city’s drainage capacity. Twelve additional pumps were purchased, three of which were installed in Georgetown at strategic points.

We are also developing a programme to see how best we can work to have the main canals in the city desilted so that we can avoid instances of flooding,” Minister Mustapha said.
Prior to the meeting, residents were engaged and tasked with identifying residents who were willing to be part of the project. They were also advised to form themselves into Community Development Councils (CDC) so that the intended works could be executed in an organised manner.
Minister Mustapha also took the opportunity to encourage residents to develop kitchen gardens and small garden plots. He informed residents that his ministry was willing to make available the necessary planting materials along with other basic gardening tools to assist with those activities.
“Those of you who are interested in farming, we will work with you. If you have a small plot or a kitchen garden or you need help in terms of materials or advice on what to plant, we will work with you and provide the necessary assistance. We have to return to the days where every home had a kitchen garden. As agriculture minister, I’ve been promoting this across the country,” Minister Mustapha said.

Ministers of Public Works and Local Government and Regional Development, Juan Edghill and Nigel Dharamlall, along with other government officials were also part of the visiting team.
Minister Mustapha, on Friday, in a video posted on the ministry’s Facebook page, announced that as part of Guyana 55th Independence observances, the Ministry of Agriculture will be hosting an Independence seed and seedlings distribution exercise.
The subject minister, while extending Independence greetings to all Guyanese, said that due to the pandemic, persons had to celebrate Independence remotely. He also said that this activity was intended to help restore the culture among Guyanese where every household had a thriving kitchen garden.
“I want to take this opportunity to invite you to come into the ministry on Tuesday. We’ll be having a small seed distribution exercise to promote some of the crops that we want to push… I am promoting the establishment of kitchen gardens so that each and every household can go back to the culture of having a kitchen garden,” Minister Mustapha said.
The exercise is scheduled for Tuesday, May 25 at the Ministry of Agriculture’s main office on Regent Street from 10:00 hours to 13:00 hours. Seeds and seedlings will be distributed to the general public free of cost while supplies last.