Agriculture Minister Noel Holder made his first East Bank Berbice visit as Agriculture Minister on Monday to meet with rice, cash-crop and livestock farmers to address some of their concerns at Highbury.
Heading the list of issues was the lack of adequate drainage and irrigation on East Bank Berbice.
Ramesh Maraj, former President of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA) asked for urgent rehabilitation of access dams, excavation of drainage structures, access to land for rearing cattle, and the rehabilitation of the sluice at Rotterdam.
He explained that the inoperable sluice allows the frontlands to be flooded.
With respect to lands being readily available, Regional Chairman David Armogan announced that a Land Use Policy will be implemented shortly to cater for farmers through the identification of lands for rice, cash-crop and pasturage.
He declared that, “what they are looking at is a comprehensive Land Use Policy for East Bank Berbice, because we have to be able to differentiate cattle area from rice areas. One of the problems we have been having, not only on the East Bank but in other parts of Berbice where rice and cattle seems to be co-existing near to each other; we seem to be having many conflicts, and so the Land Use Policy right now is being worked out as to which area will be designated cattle, and which will be designated rice, and which area based on soil type will be designated for cash crops.”
The condition of the East Bank main access road and the lack of potable water are among issues faced by residents in that area.
Minister Holder in addressing the concerns raised enlightened that significant investments have been made in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) to assist in agricultural development and to ensure enhanced production for farmers.
He defined: “Government has been working assiduously at transforming the country’s landscape to withstand the effects of the changing weather patterns, and improving key drainage and irrigation systems continue to be top priority in this transformation.”
Another issue highlighted was that some farmers are destroying Government dams to satisfy their production wants at the expense of other farmers.
Minister Holder condemned the act and warned that such practices will not be tolerated and those found guilty will face the consequences of their actions:
“If we allow the system to work, then I’m quite certain that all of the farmers would be able to benefit from that exercise. But if we tamper with the structures, you would find farmers who have pumps benefiting, while the smaller farmers would not benefit. So I’m appealing to you, the farmers, to ensure that the systems work; let us manage the systems together so that we can have a smooth flow of water reaching to each rice farmer’s plot,” he told them.
To aid in the discussion, Minister Holder was accompanied by representatives from the sectors which constitute the Agriculture Ministry, including chief executive officers; Head, National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr Oudho Homenauth; CEO, Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) Nigel Cumberbatch; General Manager, Guyana Rice Development Authority Nizam Hassan; Registrar, Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Controls Board Trecia David; General Manager, Guyana Marketing Authority Ida Sealey-Adams; and Chief Fisheries Officer Denzil Roberts.
A second meeting has been arranged and NDIA head Fredrick Flatts is expected to be present.
