Cattle farmers in Kokerite and neighbouring savannahs are at their wits’ end as they continue daily to battle rising flood waters in hopes of rescuing as many of their animals as possible as their losses continue to mount daily.
According to the numerous cattle farmers who spoke with Stabroek News over the last few weeks, a boat ride through the area would show the trauma of what they are faced with every day as they attempt to rescue their sheep, goats, and cows. They said the devastation is widespread as at almost every spot there are either dead animals or others stuck deep in mud or water.
Since the flood, which some have said started slowly three weeks ago, cattle farmers are heading into the area daily with their workmen to see what can be done, as at this stage they are also unsure if anything at all could be done, with most saying that they are going to need a lot of help to rebuild their livelihoods after the water finally recedes.
Hookumchand Mohabir, also known as ‘Ravin’, 37, of Number Nine Village, Corentyne, yesterday said the water in Kokerite Savannah is over five feet high, while in other savannahs it is just over three feet due to the heavy rains and the overflow of the Canje Creek on a daily basis.
Mohabir, who had just around 500 head of cows at the back of Kokerite Savannah, said that he and a group of men leave home every day at 2 am and head into the area through the Canje Creek. “The only way in is boat, you can’t see no dam, there is not land,” he explained.
According to him, each day they try to remove about 12 to 13 animals in two boats from the flooded location, “We pulling them then bring them out through the Canje Creek and put them in a truck.”
He related that some days they are barely able to get out of the waters just before night fall, and despite how tired, hungry, soaked, or muddy they are, they refuse to take any breaks as they have to transport their animals to the Upper Corentyne, where they barely have available land space for them to graze.
But this is not Mohabir’s only struggle in this situation, as after getting the animals into the trucks they then have to report to the New Amsterdam Police Station, where they have faced some serious issues in transporting their animals in the evenings.
“Come through Canje Creek is four hours and then when you reach night at the station they want you to leave the cow there. We journey so long and so hard just to rescue our animals and then they telling us to leave them there,” the man said.
Another farmer, Boodnarine Permanand, also known as ‘Suren’, 37, who also accompanies Mohabir daily, said he has lost over 20 goats at the location already.
“We really need help in this area, anything, we really need some help,” the man pleaded yesterday.
According to both men, while persons from the regional agricultural department would head into the area, they often times only vaccinate about 10 animals. “Every time them vet come them a do about 10 animals and them gone. Them a just come fa say they get record and then they gone,” Mohabir claimed.
Mohabir also explained to Stabroek News, that in some instances animals have been moved up into the rice cultivation area. However, he said an issue will sometimes arise there as rice farmers in that area are preparing to plant rice for another crop. “Them animals move up and them rice farmers done cut but when they come back to plant that go be a big problem,” he further explained.
Another cattle farmer, who came out of the area yesterday advised, “You na go make it in there. The scent is too much, the water just deh and rising and them dead animals deh all over.”
According to that cattle farmer, he is unsure as to when he would return to the area, “I does go with them boys but after wah I see today I’m not sure when I will go back. Them workman alone will go.”
Romona Deonarine, 40, who has grown up in the cattle business, stated that her father had 800 head of cows at Kokerite Savanna. She said, they were able to bring out 500 so far with 300 remaining. However, according to the woman, it seems that they might be able to only bring out 100 more “because the water rise up more.”
She said, “The death toll is countless right now. The water keep rising all the time. Most of the cows them just sit down or stand up right where they are, it’s terrible.”
Deonarine pointed out that there is a farmer located about two miles in front of them in Kokerite Savannah and he is unable to remove his animals at that location due to the water height. “He has nowhere to go. He’s just looking at the cows die every day”, she lamented.
Another issue cattle farmers are faced with is finding lands to place their animals on when they bring them out of the flooded savannas. Deonarine noted that they do not have enough land space for their animals but have since asked persons in their area who are not using their lands for them to place their animals.
She explained, that in some area persons who are not using their rice lands are now requesting rent from the cattle farmers, “and the government need to look into this.”
Meanwhile, she also stressed that after the flood, cattle farmers will need tremendous assistance, “We will need excavators. We have 1,500 acres of lease land in there, we are paying taxes every year and when you go to government they have no help to give you.”
According to Deonarine, in 2018 Kokerite Savannah had experienced a similar flood situation and they had reached out to the then government to create an embankment in the area in preparation for a similar situation in the future, but it was not done. She strongly believes that if this was done then the situation might not have been so dire.
“I want people to know that in 2018 we had this flood and when we went to the ministers and tell them because at that time the entire country did not hit with the flood and over 160 heads of cow and baby calves had died for us and now the same flood came,” the woman recalled.
Deonarine emphasised that families have come together to support the cattle farmers in their homes as it is important that they stand with each other now. “I grow up in cattle farming, right now my father he need the support so we have to all support them, it’s a very devastating moment and it trigger him from the last time [2018] and now he’s thinking about what’s going to happen.”
