All access dams will be fixed – Agri Minister to Corentyne rice farmers

…says inclement weather affecting maintenance works

Rice farmers in the area stretching from Number 52 to Number 74 villages on the Corentyne Coast in Region Six (East Berbice–Corentyne) have been assured that all the dams in the cultivation areas would be rehabilitated as soon as possible.

This assurance was given to those farmers by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha during a meeting he held with them at the New Market Primary School on Wednesday.

During that meeting, many farmers told the Minister that the dams were in a deplorable state, and that they were having issues in accessing their rice fields. In addition to the terrible state of the dams, farmers said, several canals in the cultivation areas needed to be cleared.
One farmer even said that farmers had rice that would be ready for harvesting in a few days’ time, but given the state of the dams, harvesting would be difficult.
“We have in there about 70 acres of rice bearing there now. We need the dam to track out. The dam needs to track out now, because of the continuous rain that falling. There are areas where we need the machine to work. This is urgent,” the farmer said.
In responding to the farmer’s concerns, Minister Mustapha said the Ministry has a continuous dam maintenance programme, and called on farmers to be more responsible when using the dams, especially during the rainy periods.
“Issues with dams don’t exist only in Black Bush Polder or in the #52 to #74 area; these are common issues across the country. We have to work together to develop better strategies, and be a bit more responsible. When farmers cut their rice and use the dams irresponsibly, these dams are once again destroyed. Some farmers have no consideration for other farmers who have to use the dams. We have to begin taking into consideration that other farmers have to use it. When you use these heavy-duty machines like the tractors and combines, the dams will continue to be destroyed once this type of weather continues. This will continue until we can build permanent all-weather roads across the country. Hopefully, we can start some of those works next year,” the Minister is quoted as saying in a release from the Agriculture Ministry.
He also told farmers that while the Ministry has been working across the country to ensure all of the dams in the cultivation areas were repaired, persistent rainfall due to climate change has been adding to the issues involved in maintaining the infrastructure.
“We are repairing these dams so that you, the farmers, can harvest your crop. For the last two years, we’ve seen changes in the weather and the harsh effects of climate change. We are now in August; July and August are supposed to be the driest months of the year, and we are still experiencing constant rainfall across the country. That is why the Ministry is working to boost the drainage system. By the end of this year, we’ll have an additional 11 pumps in the system. We are working with a financial institution to be able to procure another 40 pumps, so that we can have pumps installed at every sluice across the country.
“I’ve also asked the NDIA to inspect those areas that have canals that need to be cleared, so that we can develop a programme to clear those channels,” Mustapha has said.

Fertiliser distribution
Farmers also sought to obtain a date when the Government’s fertiliser distribution exercise would begin; and while giving an update on that initiative, Minister Mustapha said the Ministry would “soon commence” the distribution. He informed farmers that the exercise cannot commence until the list of farmers has been confirmed.
“We would’ve already started, but we keep having problems with the list. When the lists are posted, farmers are contacting us saying that there were persons on the lists who were not farmers. We do not want a repeat of what happened with the flood relief. That is why we developed committees comprising farmers and other stakeholders to do the registration and verification.
“As the Minister, I cannot say who are all the farmers in these areas. That is why we are depending on your help, and we expect you to be honest. We had officers colluding with persons during the flood relief, and we do not want that to happen again,” Mustapha explained.
Mustapha has also said the Ministry would make a grader available for farmers in the region. He said a committee should be formed so that farmers can also have some input into how the machines are utilised in the region.