Dear Editor,
Region Two Vice Chair-man Mr. Vishnu Samaroo says rice farmers will not lose their crop. Responding to a letter captioned “Rice farmers in Region Two will lose their crop”,(07.03.01) Mr. Samaroo said the writer who is a rice farmer and is always opposed to progress and development under the PPP/C Government is sending a wrong message to the public and buyers of Guyana’s rice on the international market.
The Vice Chairman said the irrigation system is not mismanaged in the Region, for the current crop all 32,500 acres of cultivated fields were irrigated during preparation and sowing. Samaroo said all fields were again irrigated during the growth of the crop at which time the first application of fertilizer was done.
He said adequate amounts of water were kept in all conservancies including the Tapakuma, Mainstay Lake and Capoey lakes, and Golden Fleece conservancy and at no time did the Region throw away water in the Atlantic Ocean. The Vice Chairman said all conservancies and lakes have water at the maximum level and the excess water was overspilled by the “spill-weir” at each conservancy.
Mr. Samaroo said Government constructed a conservancy at Red Lock to retain water from the Tapakuma Lake to irrigate rice lands.
According to the Vice Chairman two other structures to source water from the Pomeroon River were also constructed at Manakuru and cross canal areas. He said both structures were used to pump water from the Pomeroon during the recent dry season.
Mr. Samaroo said the writer also accused the Region Two Administration of not pumping water from Dawa pump station to irrigate cultivated fields. The Vice Chairman said during the early stages of the crop, there was no need to pump water at Dawa because there was an adequate supply of water in canals and conservancies.
Mr. Samaroo said sometime after sowing the weather pattern changed and the water level dropped and at that same time the contract to replace the four engines at Dawa and rehabilitate the pump station started and as a result no pumping could have done at Dawa.
The vice chairman said the Drainage and Irrigation department continued to manage the entire system and almost all the low lands were irrigated. His department was arranging to put pumps as requested by farmers at the C1 – C6 state farm areas and at Manakuru but decided against it because of heavy rainfall over the past days.
He said the rainfall allowed all the high lands to be irrigated and as a result no crop will be lost. Mr. Samaroo said there is an adequate amount of water in conservancies and lakes to safely take the crop through to harvest.
Yours faithfully,
Rajendra Prabhulall
