President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday told farmers of Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) reeling from drought conditions that $258M will be set aside to support the Ministry of Agriculture’s efforts to bring relief to them.

The Government Information Agency said the president made the disclosure during two well- attended meetings at Dartmouth and Cotton Field on the Essequibo Coast. A series of other relief measures had been previously announced by the ministry.
The Head of State was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad, Chairman of Region Two Ali Baksh and General Secretary of the Rice Producers’ Association (RPA) Dharamkumar Seeraj.

GINA said among the interventions which the $258M will fund will be planting materials, fertilizers for cash crop and portable water tanks to service communities in desperate need.
The full scale effort, the President said, may even have to include digging wells for some to reduce the high cost incurred to transport waters to these communities if necessary.

Speaking to residents at the Eight of May Community High School in Dartmouth and the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary, President Jagdeo listened and empathized with the residents, GINA said.

Some farmers related that they are likely to lose more than 1000 acres of rice if fresh water is not found in a timely manner. Others expressed deep concerns about the level of salt in the water.

One farmer of Hampton Court said the farmers are in such a desperate state that they are forced to pump salt water to about 150 acres of rice lands knowing the grave consequences of such actions, GINA said.

Several others blamed “bad management” at the level of the regional administration and the drainage and irrigation authority for failing to control the availability of water.

Jagdeo assured that his administration is fully cognizant of the difficulties and is committed to bringing full scale relief to those who depend on farming for a living.

“The entire apparatus of the Government is focused on bringing as much relief as is humanly possible to our people right across Guyana. The situation is so severe that it has taken a toll on livestock and people’s way of life. Some communities have difficulty with drinking water (particularly)  the Amerindian communities in some of the regions of our country,” President Jagdeo said, according to GINA..

While these interventions will be enhancing capabilities to adequately deal with the crisis, President Jagdeo urged the farmers to become more knowledgeable about the phenomenon since it will inform the decisions they make in the future regarding the situation.