The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) under the Ministry of Agriculture has set plans in place for the construction of a flood embankment at Kokerite Savannah and construction of a drainage and irrigation structure at Yakusari Cattle Savannah, both in Region Six, Berbice.
In mid-2021 cattle farmers incurred losses to the tens of millions of dollars as a result of severe flooding at Kokerite and other neighbouring savannahs.
Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha told Stabroek News that he had promised farmers to do some work in the flood-prone areas after an issue arose among farmers during the flood in Black Bush Polder. The projects, Mustapha noted, will be aimed at separating cattle from rice.
One of the projects will be specifically aimed at providing an area solely for the rearing of cattle. Once these measures are put in place, It is expected that cattle ranchers can comfortably rear their cattle, uninterrupted by rice farmers and without fear of loss due to flooding.
Back when the flood occurred, this newspaper had interviewed cattle farmer Romel Krishna, who complained about rice farmers practically taking over most of the land and forcing him and other ranchers to graze their cattle in flood-prone areas.
As a result, Krishna who had once owned 600 cows, 400 sheep, and 400 goats, lost over $20 million due to his cattle perishing from the floods and a lack of grazing ground.
Interested and eligible individuals for the projects were invited, through an ad in the newspapers, to place their bids and obtain further information from the NDIA’s Procurement Office during working hours.
