Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha has assured farmers from Canal numbers 1 and 2 on the West Bank of Demerara that they will soon benefit from improved drainage systems.
A Ministry of Agriculture release on Wednesday said that the minister gave these assurances when he met with farmers from the area to discuss some of the issues they faced.
However, while the farmers acknowledged the government’s efforts to develop the sector, they noted that constant rainfall coupled with the lack of effective drainage continues to pose major challenges to their livelihood. The key issue in this regard, they pointed out, was the lack of maintenance to major canals and drains in the area.
Kevon John, a farmer from Canal Number 1, said that while works are executed to dig canals and trenches, the lack of maintenance has resulted in them becoming clogged.
“As much as you are creating new drainage for us, I’d like to see the maintenance of the said trench that is being dug. I have trenches right now by me that were dug but they are getting back bad because they need maintenance. Farmers also need assistance with internal drainage. If we have to assist with fuel we can once the machine is made available,” the farmer noted.
Another farmer stated that while the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) is responsible for some of the maintenance work, they have not been able to execute those works effectively.
Other farmers also complained that as a result of flooding their infrastructure was also affected with one farmer stating, that like many other farmers in the area, sections of his farm were sinking.
In response to the issues raised, Mustapha said that a holistic approach was needed to deal with the issues faced in the area and committed to making the resources available to commence the needed work.
“Here in Canal Polder, we have one objective, which is to have maximum production. In order to address these matters, we have to look at them from a holistic view. The middle trench that you spoke about, we will do it. The NDIA will do it but there are people who don’t want that trench to be done. They are saying that they don’t want the machine to go there. If we have permission tomorrow, we’ll make a machine available before the end of the week to start those works.”
He also disclosed that the funds have been made available for the construction of a multi-million dollar pump station at Belle Vue that will offer major relief to farmers in the area.
“This year, we’ll start construction of a new pump station at Belle Vue that will cost over $500 million, to help boost the drainage system here. We are also looking to develop a new drainage structure through the ‘C’ line so that farmers there can get proper drainage. We’ll do the Hope-like canal at the ‘B’ line that the Vice President spoke about. Those structures will help you because we went to make these areas as productive as they once were. These areas were developed to produce for the country but over the years, the infrastructure has deteriorated. We have to rebuild and rehabilitate these structures. This is why we’ve increased budgetary allocations.”
And concerning requests to raise the level of farmlands, Mustapha said that engineers from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will develop a programme to assist in this regard.
“I am willing to do those works to help the farmers. The NDIA will do a programme to see how many farmers need this form of assistance. I have to say that we cannot do all the work at one time or give endless hours because we know many people have very large acreages but we will do those works to avoid flooding.”
Officers from NAREI will also meet with farmers to address crop issues after several farmers said that their production levels were low following flooding in 2022, the release added.
