Rice farmers in the Upper Corentyne have complained bitterly about the deplorable state of several dams in the area which is stopping them from transporting paddy from the backlands.
Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha met with the farmers at the Number 48 Village Primary School and a location in Maida, Corentyne on Saturday when the farmers told him of the need to carry out immediate works on several dams.
One farmer, Mahendranauth Doolchand of Number 69 Village, Corentyne told Stabroek News, that if he is unable to bring out his paddy for this crop then he will have no choice but to stop planting rice and migrate. According to the man the Number 66 dam is in desperate need of works.
Another rice farmer, Anand Tulsi, 46, noted that the Number 69 dam is also in need of works. He noted that if he is unable to bring out his paddy from the backlands then he will lose millions of dollars and is unsure how he will survive after that huge loss.
Khemraj Jathu, 41, rice farmer, then requested that works be carried out on the Number 47 – 48 middle walk dam. “It is unacceptable that abie get abie land and can’t go back to abie land”, the man stressed.
Mustapha then announced that he was presented with a list from the Water Users Association of dams where works are needed within the 52 – 74 area, and he immediately approved that list.
Based on that list, works will be carried out on the dams located at Number 55/ Number 56, Number 57/ Number 58, Number 60/ Number 61, Number 61/ Number 62, Number 62 (south), Number 63/ Number 64, Number 67/ Number 68, Number 69/ Number 70, Number 71/ Number 72 and Number 72/ Number 73 in the Upper Corentyne Area.
“So I have asked the CEO of NDIA (National Drainage and Irrigation Authority) that I will approve this (list) and we will have those dams rehab immediately as from tomorrow”, Mustapha said to applause from the farmers present.
He then said that over the last few months they would have given almost $18M to complete works on dams in Region Six.
“There were a number of dams that were done, the rain came and farmers had to bring out their produce so you have problem with the dams again”, the minister said.
Meanwhile, for dams within the 51 – Good Hope Area, since no list was presented, Mustapha said he would ask the NDIA to carry out an assessment so as to determine which dams are in need of works in that area after which machines will be assigned.
The farmers after the meeting told Stabroek News that they were pleased with the minister’s immediate approval of the list and decision to have an assessment done of other areas. However, they stressed, that it is important that work on the dams commence at the earliest possible time.
The Department of Public Information (DPI) said that farmers at Maida raised similar issues at the second meeting. One farmer said tractors could not traverse the dam to transport the paddy because of its state.
“Right now, we have rice to cut, and we don’t have dams to bring it out. I’m from Philippi. The dam has some big, big ponds, that if the tractors drive there, it would leave right there, so we need you to look at the dams and do some work on it so that we can bring out the paddy,” the farmer said, according to DPI.
Another farmer said works needed to be carried out on both the trench and the dam in her area.
“The canal needs to be dug from the road all the way to Crown Dam, and both dams need to be fixed. Right now, the dams are bad, and the farmers cannot use the boats because the trench is clogged up,” the farmer said, according to DPI.
After listening to the farmers, Mustapha committed to having works carried out on all the dams that need fixing.
“For the farmer that raised the issue about saltwater intrusion twice a year, if the structure is too small and cannot take off the amount of water, I’ll ensure a proper assessment of the area is done. If we need to put a pump and a larger koker there, we’ll do it. I will send our technical officers there in the new week to meet with you, and they will do an assessment and provide me with a report in the new week,” Mustapha said.
Mustapha told farmers that a team from the Ministry would be visiting the area today to meet residents and the NDC. A small committee will be formed to look at all the canals and dams that need to be rehabilitated.
