Govt commits to major D&I works along Soesdyke-Linden Highway corridor

– farmers to benefit from desilting of creeks, land clearing, access to free planting materials

Residents of Yarrowkabra and surrounding communities were on Saturday promised a series of interventions to improve irrigation, expand agricultural production and support farmers along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway on Saturday. At the meeting, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha outlined the intervention after listening to issues raised by the resident, most of which had to do with the need for irrigation in several communities. The Minister stated that the Ministry will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the creeks along the corridor, with excavation and desilting to begin in the coming weeks. He said an amphibious excavator will be deployed to desilt and expand creeks that require intervention, improving access to irrigation water and helping communities prepare for prolonged dry conditions associated with El Niño. “We’ll do a survey of all the creeks in this area. Whichever creek needs excavation, we’ll start it in the coming weeks. I will send a machine here to do desilting of all the creeks along the highway so that we can have good irrigation.” He explained that the work will be undertaken in stages, beginning at one end of the corridor and progressing through the various communities. The Minister said the programme will include communities such as Loo Creek, Yarrowkabra, Long Creek, Silver Hill, Kairuni and Circuit Ville. Mustapha also announced that a technical team will work to determine the potential locations for water catchments as part of the response to dry weather conditions, noting that similar facilities established in hinterland communities have been providing farmers with water during periods of limited rainfall.

He told the farmers that a team from the Ministry will conduct a needs assessment to determine the types of planting materials as well as the quantities needed by the farmers in the coming week, after which all the planting materials will be provided to the farmers free of cost through the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI). While addressing poultry production, he related that the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) will provide assistance to boost production through services like artificial insemination, in addition to the provision of Black Giant chicks as part of the poultry expansion programme. Further, he disclosed that the GLDA is in the process of examining suitable additional breeds of hens for the poultry expansion programme. He explained that while Black Giant birds are considered resilient and highly productive, the breed is non-broody and does not naturally incubate its eggs. “I’ve asked the head of the GLDA to explore, from a technical level, additional breeds because we still want to continue expanding the poultry programme. So, we will look at introducing a breed that is as resilient as the Black Giant but also has that instinct to incubate its eggs,” he said.
The Minister also committed to expanding land-clearing support for farmers along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. He said while some farmers, through various farmers’ groups, have already had three acres cleared, additional land remains to be prepared, and the Ministry will conduct a survey to identify farmers requiring assistance. “We’ll clear up to three acres of land for every farmer along the highway so that we can have full production. We’ll do a survey and make the machinery available to do that,” Mustapha said. He added that the interventions outlined during the meeting are expected to address some of the immediate constraints affecting farmers along the corridor, particularly access to irrigation, land preparation and planting materials, while creating the conditions for increased agricultural production. Other regional officials and technical officers from the Ministry of Agriculture were also present at the community meeting.