Over 60% of rice in Region Six is under threat, according to President of the Rice Producers’ Association (RPA) Leekha Rambrich, who says farmers could lose millions of dollars due to dereliction by pump operators at Black Bush Polder.
Rambrich told Stabroek News that rice fields from No 51 Village to Whim on the Corentyne are affected by the actions of the operators, who have refused to turn the pumps on.
According to him, the four pump operators, who are staying at a house in the compound of the pump station, are upset that they are not being provided with electricity.
Describing the problem, which the farmers have been facing for one week now as serious, Rambrich said, “Their livelihood is under threat and millions of dollars in investment is going down the drain.”
He is outraged that the operators are being allowed to get away with their behaviour and wondered why the “regional administration tolerating this nonsense? They [the operators] should have been dismissed on the stop.”
He added: “Since last week farmers have been demanding water but nobody is making a decision about it.”
The RPA head said too that the National Drainage & Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is aware of the situation but no action is being taken. He accuses the head of the NDIA, Frederick Flatts, of “not working in favour of the farmers.”
He also wants the Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder to “stop sleeping and come out and reach with farmers and understand their plight.”
Rambrich said a small amount of harvesting has commenced in the region and emphasized that the other farmers require water urgently.
Stabroek News made efforts to contact Flatts and the Regional Chairman of Region Six David Armogan but was unsuccessful.
