Water from the Mahaica River would have to be pumped into farmlands in the Mahaicony area in Region Five in order to cleanse the soil of the salt water that swept across the land during recent spring tides, Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal has said.
He observed that it would be a tedious task and requires a multi-agency approach. Ramphal was asked yesterday to comment on resuscitation of the lands as farmers have not been able to cultivate crops since the lands were flooded by salt water resulting from breaches in the sea defence between Dantzig and Fairfield.
Janaknauth Panchu, in a letter published in today’s Stabroek News, called for urgent action to be taken to flush salt water trapped in the irrigation canals. He noted that salt water has intruded into the irrigation system as far as No. 10 up the Mahaica River.
“The salt water is now trapped in the irrigation canals with nowhere to go since all outlets to the Bellamy Canal have been sealed off,” Panchu wrote, before pointing out that hundreds of acres of rice land located in the backlands of Broek en Waterland, Dantzig, Glazier’s Lust, Prospect and High Dam, cannot be cultivated due to the presence of salt water in the irrigation system.
“The solution to this problem is to reopen the Dantzig Canal for a few days during the low tide for the sole purpose of draining the salt water out of the irrigation system or have the water pumped out via the Dantzig Canal into the Bellamy Canal,” Panchu suggested.
However, Ramphal explained that no immediate action cannot be taken since the inland dams being constructed by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to ease flooding are not yet completed. The Regional Chairman noted too that they would have to consult with the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary – Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) since they have responsibility for drainage and irrigation in the region.
“It will have to be the [MMA-ADA] who would have to make this possible for the farmers because they are responsible for the irrigation. I have to speak with them and see how best we can assist the farmers,” Ramphal explained.
He also noted that MMA-ADA might not have all the resources to execute the project and as such, they would have to engage the NDIA.
“It would have to be a collaborative effort taking on this project. Some of the resources might need to come from the NDIA because they have mobile pumps that can be used. So when the dam is completed we would have to look at how we can assist the farmers who are affected,” Ramphal added.
Panchu, in his letter, revealed that many farmers are in a “quandary since they depend on rice cultivation for their livelihood and they also have bank loans to repay.”
“In view of the foregoing, I am hereby appealing to the Honourable Minister of Agriculture to instruct the [MMA-ADA] to take immediate action to get the salt water out of the irrigation system so that farmers could continue with their normal lives and put food on the table for their families,” Panchu wrote.
Two separate spring tides recently devastated the lives of residents of the area, leaving them to cope with unexpected damage as well as being flooded. Hundreds of acres of rice fields and animals were lost as a result of the flooding. Losses are said to be in the millions.
The residents of Mahaicony became vulnerable as a result of the breaches in the sea defence along Dantzig to Fairfield. The three-kilometre stretch along the shoreline is currently being impacted by major erosion of the foreshore and depletion of the mangrove fringe.
Since the exposure to salt water, over 2,000 acres of lands have come under threat and Ramphal had said that some land may not be usable for two years.
