AS the government continues to address Guyana’s susceptibility to flooding, a conscious effort is being made to construct new drainage infrastructures and upgrade a number of existing ones all across the country. On Sunday, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture indicated that it was embarking on construction works valued in excess of $300 million, during the first quarter of this year.

These include the much-needed construction of three key pieces of drainage infrastructure at Vriesland, West Bank Demerara, Region Three. The northern drainage structure is estimated to cost $21,872,600, followed by the construction of a central drainage structure at an estimated cost of $23,019,700, and a southern drainage structure pegged at $21,668,500.

The NDIA will also be procuring several tractor-operated water pumps for the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six, at an estimated total of $100.1 million.

To further improve the functioning of several channels, the ministry has on its agenda the construction of three concrete bridges at Mahaica, Region Five. These are, the Payo Bridge, which according to an engineer’s estimate is likely to cost $27,064,590; the Eddie Bridge, at an estimated cost of $29,886,418; and the Pelo Bridge, pegged at $27,960,410.

Also set to commence before the end of the first quarter of this year is the rehabilitation of secondary outfall channels at Acre Dairy plots in Region Five, at an estimated cost of $36,759,000.
In addition to the construction of an access road at Onderneeming, Region Two, the ministry also has a tender out for the supply and installation of a 71 KVA power generator for the NDIA’s Lusignan office building; this is estimated at $8,862,400.

It should be noted that within the past two years, the drainage capacity of farmlands and even residential communities across Guyana has improved significantly. As a matter of fact, during 2021 alone, investments in drainage and irrigation have surpassed $8.4 billion.

CONSIDERABLE HEADWAY
The Ministry of Agriculture has indicated that the government was able to make considerable headway with the restoration of Guyana’s agricultural sector, after a five-year pause on investments in the development and maintenance of new and existing drainage and irrigation structures.

In addition to the billions worth of drainage works across the country, just over $4 billion was also spent to cover initiatives which included the procurement of heavy-duty machinery, as well as the construction of drainage and irrigation structures.

A total of 2,487 contracts were also signed in 2021 and this included a $497,464,600 agreement for the supply of a Cutter Head Dredge. Farmers in the Pomeroon were also able to benefit from a block drainage programme, which will continue in 2022. Approximately 200 farmers benefitted from this programme in 2021.

The unprecedented and devastating May/June floods also saw approximately $1.5 billion being spend on executing a myriad of emergency works, which included clearing and desilting clogged waterways, the operation of both mobile and fixed drainage pumps to drain flooded farms and residential areas, and rehabilitating and reinforcing embankment structures in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and 10.

This is in addition to the $7.8 billion flood relief programme which saw thousands of affected farmers and households benefitting from direct financial support. Moreover, despite the challenges faced by the floods, the Agriculture Ministry assured that the NDIA was able to stay on course with its 2021 work programme.

Additionally, in keeping with the government’s goal to double agricultural production and reduce the nation’s food-import bill, NDIA’s work programme focused on carrying out drainage works in communities that had a clear interest in farming.

NEGLECT
“Some of these communities are historically known for their agricultural outputs, but saw a decline in production due to the lack of proper drainage and irrigation systems under the APNU+AFC government,” NDIA said.

In response to this, the drainage and irrigation authority carried out critical works in Nabacalis, Friendship, Victoria, Cove and John, Hogg Island, Wakenaam, Leguan, Zeelugt, Meten-Meer-Zorg, Buxton, Canal Polders and Black Bush Polders, among others, after years of neglect.

Through collaboration with various authorities, NDIA also said that it was also able to implement routine drainage maintenance programmes, whereby community stakeholders and beneficiaries were contracted to maintain the waterways in their communities.

Added to the work of the NDIA, an estimated $28.7 billion was expended in 2021 by various agencies under the Agriculture Ministry for a number of transformative projects within the sector.

Apart from the $22.6 billion budgeted for drainage works, approximately $6.1 billion worth of supplementary funds were sought and approved to cover additional expenses.

Aside from drainage and irrigation work, the government, in 2021, also commenced work on the development of several farm-to-market roads, in an effort to make more lands available to farmers.

The ongoing construction of two major roads at Numbers 52 and 58 villages Corentyne, Berbice, as well as a $327 million asphaltic concrete road at Onverwagt in Region Five, are expected to give farmers access to thousands of acres of prime farmlands for the cultivation of rice and cash crops, as well as livestock farming.

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, had said that the roads were among several projects streamlined for implementation in various farming communities across Guyana. “These are very significant and transformative projects. You will see thousands of acres of new lands being made available with the construction of these all-weather roads, which will satisfy the needs of thousands of farmers there,” Minister Mustapha said.

The farm-to-market road at the Number 52 Village will span approximately two kilometres long and will be completed at a cost of $240 million, while the Number 58 Village Road will cost just about $640 million to construct.

The ministry is also advancing its plan to expand the sector over the next four years, which will see the construction of several farm-to-market roads across the regions. These include a projected $175 million road on the right bank of the Mahaicony Creek in Region Five; an estimated $150 million road on the left bank of the Mahaica Creek in Region Four and an estimated $100 million road at Salem, Region Three, the Ministry of Agriculture said.