Flooded dams prevent farmers from accessing lands at Alness, Salton

Rice, other crops and animal farmers at Alness and Salton on the Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) cannot get to their farms as overflowing water has made sections of the access dam impassable.

As many as two feet of water is currently covering some sections of the dam.
There are in excess of 3000 acers within the two villages under rice cultivation. Additionally citrus and cash crop is also planted in that farmers refer to as the backlands.
This publication was taken to the affected acres and one farmer Mahadeo Tulsi had water reaching his waist as he crossed a breach on a dam at Alness.
He said there were other breaches further up the dam but access was not possible.
“More down ah bottom he more bad,” he said.
Tulsi, who cultivates 40 acers of rice explained that some tractors cannot get pass that breach which is about one mile inland.
He said that he had to park his motorcycle as he got to the breach and walk into the water as he sunk into the brown water to his stomach.
That was a warning for this publication not to venture further.
Tulsi said tractors also cannot make it past that breach. Some have attempted it and have suffered the consequences.
“They get some pile that dose hook dem tractor and wheel ah lef right I deh,” he explained.
According to that farmer, currently some of his rice which he should be harvesting in two weeks is under water as a result of recent rainfall. The rice should be okay if he can pump out the water but because of the state of the dam, he cannot get a pump to the cultivated area.
Tulsi said he has sought assistance from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) at Whim but his efforts were unsuccessful.
The local Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) farmers said has also not provided needed assistance.
Tulsi told this publication that the ranger informed him that the water at the koka which leads water to the Ocean is still low.
“The ranger said the water has to reach a certain gage. So, I tell him ‘it is not about that gage, is the gage ah backdam’.”
He said if the ranger works with the gage at the Ocean koka and dose nothing which their rice fields are flooded, as farmers they are wasting time planting.
Another farmer, Gideon Rajgopaul, who cultivates cash crop and rice told this publication that he too cannot get to his farm in this time of need. Between himself and his father they have about 90 acres under cultivation with most being rice.
“We have major problems. The stage of the rice it is drawing milk – that is when it starts fulling up the paddy. In a next three to four weeks we would be ready to harvest we have no access. This is just one breach, there are many more back there but we don’t have access to take you back there are show you,” he said.
According to Rajgopaul, there have been several pleas to persons from NDIA for assistance but to no avail.
“We went there at Tarlogy. Just a couple days ago I spoke with the engineer in charge if D&I in this area and he promised us to send a machine like he always do. I even showed him that we have a tube that blow out from here. This is a key spot, there is nowhere else – this is the only place that we can go through to reach in the backdam.”
Meanwhile, Harish Bisnauth considers himself a small farmer with three plots within the two villages totally 19 acers under rice cultivation.
He revealed that because of the breaches he cannot take his tractor to his cultivation. He needs the tractor to assist in pumping excess water off of nine acres which he is expected to harvest within two weeks.
“We warry run to Tarlogy for a machine, every time they turn abe down.”
If no intervention is made quickly then rice farmers stand to lose millions of dollars. (G4)