Flooding challenges persist in Black Bush Polder area

…as agriculture ministry works to ease rainy season woes for farmers

The Agriculture Ministry, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has implemented some measures to address flooding in the Black Bush Polder (BPP) area.
Cash crop farmers have already experienced losses, while the situation with rice is being monitored, and arrangements have been put in place to assist livestock farmers.
Considered as the agriculture capital of Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) which has agriculture as its main economic activity, Black Bush Polder has been heavily impacted by the current rainy season.
All four Polders of Lesbeholden, Mibicuri, Johanna, and Yakasari have not been spared, with Johanna and Yakasari being the hardest hit.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha visited all four polders on Wednesday, where he engaged residents with the aim of finding out what is happening on the ground.
One livestock farmer Titus Clarke of Johanna, questioned why authorities did not rely on the weather forecast.
The livestock farmer said that there is water in his sheep pen reaching to the belly of the animals.
According to the Agriculture Minister, there were two excavators deployed into the Black Bush Polder a few weeks ago to assist those owned by the Black Bush Polder Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).
Andy Anderson from the BBP Water Users Association (WUA), explained that there was flooding in the Cookrite Savannah and the lives of animals there was in danger.
As a result, they had to drain water from Cookrite Savannah in to the residential area in BBP to save the animals at Cookrite Savannah.
Mustopha pointed out that with the heavy intense rainfall, it has resulted in several communities being flooded.
“Especially Johanna and Yakasari. Mibicuri and Lesbeholden, they are not flooded up to that extent, but Johanna and Yakasari are the areas flooded out severely. I am working with NDIA [National Drainage and Irrigation Authority] to ensure that all the systems are in place,” he noted.
He also said that three pumps are situated at the Number 43 sluice and are working around the clock.
He added that he will be monitoring the situation.
“If we don’t have more heavy rainfall, the water can recede here shortly. In the meantime, we have agencies like NDIA, GLDA [Guyana Livestock Development Authority], GRBD [Guyana Rice Development Board] and NAREI [National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute]. They are working, making an assessment what is happening,” Mustapha said.
“Some people are already complaining that they have lost cash crops. We haven’t had any major complaints about rice losses as yet, but some areas, like this area of Yakasari, haven’t sown much land as yet. Only about 300 acres have been sown there, but at Johanna, they sown about 1,800 acres and I will be monitoring that situation to ensure that the area is drained quickly and also we will try to see what form of help, because normally we always help farmers with input whenever they suffer losses like this,” the Agriculture Minister assured.
However, he noted that the major task at hand is to get the water off the area.
“That has been an ongoing process, but we have seen heavy, heavy rainfall. More than four or five inches of rainfall fell in less than 12 hours in Black Bush.”
Among some of the interventions following Wednesday’s visit will be the deployment of more machinery in the area.