-helping farmers to recover from El Nino
Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud Friday visited farmers at Leguan and Wakenaam to launch a national recovery programme for rice farmers who suffered from the effects of El Niño.
In addition, the programme will be assisting other communities that have been affected. The programme will see seed paddy and  fertilisers distributed to the farmers who had lost their crops. This assistance will also be given countrywide.

The programme is being implemented by the Rice Producers’ Association and Guyana Rice Development Board. Government has allocated approximately $110M towards the programme.
Minister Persaud stated that the programme is dedicated towards assisting farmers who had extreme difficulties in terms of harvesting and this would help to mitigate their losses.
The National Dairy Development Programme unit constructed and excavated ponds for 64 cattle farmers, which was appreciated by the farmers.
Minister Persaud noted that the government is spending over $16 M in Leguan, in terms of support, and this includes the purchase of seed paddy at $5,500 per bag.

He urged farmers to move quickly towards recovery and production so as to ensure that there is no significant fallout in production and to be able to meet market demands.
In addition, Minister Persaud explained that the government is encouraging agricultural diversification in Leguan and Wakenaam and the other islands.
There would be an agricultural diversification advisory group within the GRDB to work with farmers to train and identify opportunities and provide specialised advice to rice farmers.
Regional Chairman, Julius Faerber, disclosed some of the activities that will be undertaken in the region, including the rehabilitation of bridges and roads in Wakenaam.

Faerber added that the construction of the airstrip had started and will be completed shortly.
In addition, the roads around that area will also be constructed to facilitate the airstrip.
Approximately $9M in stone will be purchased for maintenance work on roads.
The Secondary School at Wakenaam will be expanded to accommodate the increasing student population.
The Regional Administration and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council will be excavating some drains and have them manually cleaned to prepare for the coming rainfall.
Wakenaam farmer, Rodwell Ramcharran, thanked Minister Persaud and the government for all the help given to farmers on the islands.