With fields still inundated from recent heavy rainfall and water overtopping from the Canje Creek, the Albion sugar estate has been forced to postpone the commencement of its second crop by a month and around 30% of the canes are under severe threat.
The crop season which was scheduled to commence in mid-July has now been pushed back to mid-August but General Manager Threbhowan Shivprasad pointed out that this date is tentative as it is dependent on the situation in the fields.
“Presently we have a situation whereby we face major losses. It has been 33 days since the entire cultivation has been under water. We have a situation now where it is the spring tide and it is overtopping in the Canje River,” he explained yesterday.
On this note, he stated that there isn’t much that can be done to drain off the water from land as all the main drainage channels are filled to capacity.
Nonetheless, he said that they have four mobile pumps from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority and have reactivated the old sluice at Tain, Corentyne to enable faster drainage of the cultivations.
According to Shivprasad, because of the current spring tide they are unable to operate the pumps at Brotherson and Vriendschapp. These two pumps had been working overtime to drain water from the land but with high levels of water they have been unable to work them over the past two weeks.
The General Manager explained that they have been continuously monitoring the situation and policing embankments created to prevent and avert major flooding in some areas.
Meanwhile, GuySuCo Chief Executive Officer Sasenarine Singh told Stabroek News that approximately 30% of the cultivation is under threat.
“This number can change [so] we cannot give a clear picture of the damages because water is still on the land and until it withdraws we will not know of the exact damages,” he said.
He however noted that the first crop production fell short of the target by at least 10,000 tonnes. The estate’s target was set at 32,000.
Singh further explained that they have been investing a lot in a bid to save the crop for the upcoming production season.
Shivprasad yesterday explained that should the lands remain waterlogged longer, the first crop for 2022 will be severely impacted. Cultivated fields of young sugar cane are currently under water and it is unclear if they will survive the flooding.
Stabroek News was told that even mature plants are dying and rotting as a result of the flood. A source told this newspaper that many of the sugar cane plants are no longer able to stay firmly in the ground.
“People are saying the 2005 floods were major but when you look at the amount of water on the land in the Albion cultivation it is overwhelming. This situation is worse than 2005 because water is coming from the savannahs and behind the Canje creek and flowing into our lands. When you look at some places you have water levels between 5 to 7 feet deep,” Singh said.
