Government has agreed to assist in the relocation and care of herds of cattle and is pursuing other means to assist Region Five’s cattle, cash crop and rice farmers to deal with the current, intense rainfall.
According to a Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) press release, the excess rainfall that has plagued the upper reaches of the Mahaica and Mahaicony creeks have contributed to water accumulation on some farms. Several acres of rice under cultivation, especially at Mahaicony Creek, have been protected after interventions while teams of officials from the agriculture ministry have been monitoring the situation.
On Friday, Minister Robert Persaud updated farmers and residents about possible interventions after he visited the area to assess additional needs. Persaud was accompanied by personnel from the Regional Administration and the crops, livestock and drainage and irrigation departments of the ministry.
At Mahaicony, it was agreed that the priority would be to identify high lands so cattle, particularly calves, could be relocated. The ministry agreed to provide medication and supplements to maintain the animals at the new location. Farmers told the meeting that there were plots of private land that could be used for this intervention and the ministry agreed to make arrangements with the owner.
As regard rice, efforts are continuing through the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary- Agricultural Development Authority to save several acres in the Mahaicony Agricultural Development Scheme.
Two pumps have been deployed and are working to discharge excess water from the area while several private farmers who are pumping water from their fields have been assisted with fuel. Veterinarians and other officials from the ministry are expected to monitor the area and to implement various initiatives.
Long-term interventions to alleviate the risk of flooding in the area include empoldering 18, 000 acres of land south of the Jugdeo Canal to First Savannah along the right bank of the Mahaicony River.
These works, which will be completed during the year, will include the installation of flood control structures that will “open-up more lands for agricultural activities.”
During the meeting at Mahaica Creek, the ministry told farmers that they will assist those severely affected by providing planting materials and possibly manure to help them re-cultivate their lands. It was noted that the upper reaches of the Creek; areas such as Joe Hook and Grass Hook were most severely affected. Govern-ment had extended an offer to relocate residents to a new catchment area.
After a request for more visits from veterinarians, the ministry said it will ask the Region Four veterinarian to serve the Mahaica Creek area. This will allow the officer stationed in Region Five to focus on the Mahaicony and Abary creeks where there are more herds. At Mahaica, residents said there had been incidents of vandalism of the drainage and irrigation (D&I) structures which is now affecting farmers. Persaud noted that this is a serious problem and urged farmers to be more vigilant to protect the infrastructure that is in place to aid their agricultural activities.
He said that replacement and repairs to the vandalized structures require significant resources.
The meeting also announced that the Perth/Biaboo canal will be rehabilitated, as requested by cash crop farmers. The farmers said repairing the canal would allow easier access to their farms.
The repairs are set to begin in the dry season while maintenance of the area’s D&I channels will soon be finished.
