RAMGOLAM Singh popularly known as “Rishu”, a rice farmer from Region Six, credited some of his success to the massive amount of drainage and irrigation works that were done since Zulfikar Mustapha became the Minister of Agriculture. Singh said: “… there has been a mass improvement in drainage and irrigation. If you go in every area in our region, whether Black Bush Polder or 52-74 Crabwood Creek, in the front lands, there are several machines. At present, the farmers and the government are working hand-in-hand to prepare the dams to take out the paddy, and, fortunately, a farmer by the name of Dahdo from Number 57 Village reaped an average of 65 bags per acre with the GRDB 10 variety. We are seeing a lot of improvement under this new government because of its commitment to producing food to feed the nation and internationally. Already we are seeing that the price for paddy has gone up a little and the millers in Region Six have upped their price from $45,000 per tonne to $50,000 per tonne.”