CURRENTLY, there are four pumps in operation at the Dawa pump station, as part of the preparations for cultivating rice in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region, which encompasses over 30,000 acres of land, according to Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, during his visit to the region on Wednesday.

Minister Mustapha, along with Director General of Ministry of Agriculture, Madanlall Ramraj; Head of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Lionel Wordsworth; Deputy General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Kuldip Ragnauth; General Manager of the National Agricultural and Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Jagnarine Singh; Head of the Guyana Livestock and Development Authority (GLDA), Dr. Waldron, along with Regional Vice Chairman, Humace Oodit and regional engineers, visited the Dawa pump station to get a first-hand view on the level of water in the system.

Minister Mustapha has stated that the four pumps were currently operating at a rate of 215,400 gallons per minute. He further mentioned that within a span of 5-7 working days, the water levels should reach a satisfactory level for both rice and cash farmers.
Minister Mustapha announced that the Ministry of Agriculture, through NDIA, will be extracting water from Good Hope to supplement the Dawa pump station. It was mentioned that the intervention will lead to a flow rate of 80-100 gallons per minute into the system.
According to him, the Ministry of Agriculture and key stakeholders are collaborating to increase the water level in the region. He mentioned that a schedule will be prepared for the sowing period and expressed optimism regarding the irrigation of the fields.

According to him, a group will be established with the purpose of monitoring the structures. That group will collaborate closely with the Water Users Association (WUA) to oversee the D&I system. Engineers from the region will make frequent visits to the Dawa pump station throughout the designated time frame.
Minister also said that a substantial amount of money was being spent to provide fuel to the pump station with the rice and cash crop farmers’ interest at heart.
He therefore assured those relying on the water system for sowing that the Ministry was working to have an adequate amount of water in the system.
“We are happy for such intervention and we are happy that the Minister himself came to intervene in this matter with us” a rice farmer, Amous Narine, said.