Across the country, hundreds of farmers looked on helplessly as rains over the last week swamped their rice fields, leaving more than 35,000 acres, about 20% of the current crop, affected at varying degrees.
The heavy rainfall started mid last week and has left some fields covered in as much as two feet of water. In areas like Cane Grove (Region Four) and the Essequibo Coast (Region Two), hundreds of farmers are forced to stand by and watch as their plants begin to rot.
Water, farmers told Stabroek News yesterday, has been on the land for as long as a week in some cases. Even those whose fields have not been swamped are “feeling the