Materials being purchased for fence to protect Corentyne rice lands

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, on Thursday told Upper Corentyne cattle and rice farmers that the materials for the construction of a fence for cattle grazing within the Number 52 to Number 74 Corentyne area are currently being procured.

The proposal to build a fence was presented to a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture earlier this month after rice and cattle farmers clashed over an order from the 52-74 Water Users Association giving permission for animals to be impounded when found in rice cultivations.

“We have had some issue with cattle and rice in this area and to get a compromise I sent a team from the Ministry of Agriculture with the region and they had some proposal which I endorsed and I think that shortly we might have less conflict between cattle farmers and rice farmers because what we will be doing we will be erecting back a fence,” the minister noted on Thursday.