Region Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud said government is working with rice farmers to harvest the first crop for the year which it anticipates to be its biggest ever.
However, as recent heavy rains have made dams and farmlands inaccessible, the regional administration has deployed all its machinery to improve them so that the harvesting period will not be stymied, Persaud said, as the region expects to meet its target of over one million bags of paddy.
“We are expected to start harvesting this week, as of today we are going to harvest our rice and it will go through for another month or so throughout the region,” Persaud said, according to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release. The chairman said help was being provided in collaboration with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority which gave a pontoon to clean the two outfalls, at Lima and Devonshire Castle.
“Region Two is basically a rice growing region and so emphasis must be placed on enhancing the D&I system, creating better drain-age for our rice farming areas,” Persaud said. He also noted that focus will be on drainage canals, outfalls and sluices that are not working effectively including those at Westbury, Andrews and Three Friends. This year, the region will continue to implement measures that will modernise the area and further develop agriculture, health, education and the public works sectors.
