Data compiled during visits by the Ministry of Agriculture, its associated agencies and the Civil Defence Commission will be used to determine the approximate 52,000 recipients of government’s recently announced $7.8B flood relief grants.
This is according to Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh and Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha.
Government is also currently “fine-tuning” how the money will distributed and that process should be completed by the end of this week.
“The numbers are from the compilation of data we used to determine the relief to be given. As you are aware, government had led a fan-out exercise across the country following the floods. Led by the Ministry of Agriculture, its agencies and the Civil Defence Commission; the information on those needing assistance was gathered,” Singh told Stabroek News yesterday.
As he explained that his ministry assisted on advising on the availability of funding and accounting for the project, Singh informed that Mustapha had put together a complete report on the impact of the floods here on local farmers and the overall agriculture sector.
The Finance Minister said the total sums for the assistance are “approximately $7.8B”. Singh pointed to the Agriculture Minister to elaborate on the works done by that ministry.
“Those figures were garnered from … extensive works of assessment officers in all of the regions. It took so long because there had to be a lot of verification. If somebody came and say they lost this from planting rice, the agencies won’t take your word. They will come and see what kind of damage you suffered,” Mustapha said when contacted yesterday.
“The data was already compiled and now we will discuss and see how we will (address it), like what form (of payment). That will be decided this same week. We will deal with it,” he added.
He said that the rice farmers affected are approximately 2000 in number and it is the “same thing with livestock farmers”.
President Irfaan Ali on Saturday announced a series of relief measures, including billions in cash grants for households and farmers that were devastated by recent flooding countrywide.
In a brief address to the nation, Ali explained that recent flooding has severely affected 300 communities and 52,000 households. The agricultural sector, he said, has suffered the greatest loss with 92,000 acres of farm and farm lands affected. The sugar industry, in particular, he noted, suffered a $1.5 billion loss in the fields.
According to Ali, initial estimates show $23 billion in loss of production across the sector while damage to the forestry sector and loss of production and damage to equipment is estimated to be in excess of $8 billion.
