Corentyne rice farmers seek assistance after investing $148M

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder; Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma; Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Fredrick Flatts; and other officials from the Agriculture and Finance ministries, along with Prime Ministerial Regional Representative Gobin Harbhajan, on Friday
visited a farming co-op located 14 miles inland the Central Corentyne Coast, where 30 farmers have pooled their resources and invested some $148 million to develop 3000 acres of rice land, but are able to cultivate only one crop of rice per year as a result of poor drainage and irrigation that obtains.
Because of a shortage of land in the front areas of the Corentyne Coast, the farmers, belonging to the Corentyne Youth Farmers Co-op Society, have made this investment in the backlands, but they cannot get water when it is most needed.
The area they occupy, which was under rich cultivation from the 1960s up to the early 1970s, was occupied by the co-op ten years ago, but cultivation commenced in 2011.

Vice Chairman of the Corentyne Youth Farmers Co-op Society, Ahmad Rajab, during this visit from the ministries, revealed that it cost each member about $5 million to develop the area.
“That is millions out of people’s own pockets (with) no help from the Government. We are only getting one crop (of rice) per year, so we are asking for some help to dig out a canal. It is a lot of money we invested, and when we lose a crop it is very hard; so we are asking (for) help, and (assistance to) dig a canal so that we can get better drainage,” Rajan explained.
Rajab told the media that the farmers’ goal is to be able to cultivate two crops per year. “We only get the spring crop, they call that the big crop. The May/June crop, we always miss it because it is, like, too much rainfall.”
He noted that all that is needed for the co-op to be able to plant two crops is drainage. “Our co-op is fully functional, and every piece of land is noticeably under cultivation. Lack of proper drainage is the main element stopping us from achieving two crops per year.”
Following a tour of the cultivated area, the NDIA CEO, Fredrick Flatts, said drainage works will commence shortly. Flatts, who had previously visited the cultivation, said the work of digging a canal from the co-op lands to the outflow channel is likely to commence in June.
“In 2016, myself and another engineer visited the area to see how best we can assist farmers with drainage. A proposal was submitted, and I am happy to say that we are now in the procurement stage. Once things remain on schedule, works are expected to commence within the next two months,” Flatts assured.
Agriculture Minister Noel Holder noted that climate change is affecting Guyana, and a number of drainage pumps are being installed across the Guyana coast. He explained that this is being done to maintain production, and not to increase production.
Minister Holder also spoke of efforts being made by the Agriculture Ministry to make more lands available to farmers with the aim of expanding production and productivity. Nevertheless, he commended the co-op on the initiative.
Expansion of rice cultivation comes in light of new markets secured by the Guyana Rice Development Board over the last year.
Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma said he was pleased to see a co-op functioning so effectively. (Andrew Carmichael)