The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will be sending a team to assist with flood mitigation in farming areas located along the East Bank of Demerara.
This was jointly announced by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, and Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha during a meeting with farmers and residents from Coverden on the East Bank of Demerara, a release from the Ministry of Agriculture reported on Friday.
The team of engineers from the drainage authority will be headed by its chairman, Lionel Wordsworth, and is expected to return to the area in the coming days to conduct an assessment, after which, a comprehensive drainage plan will be developed to guide the works, the release added.
The Vice President also said that the ministry will soon engage residents and begin training to assist with activities such as grafting, at its plant nursery at Timehri. This, he added, will assist with ensuring the facility has sufficient planting materials.
Meanwhile, Mustapha told those gathered that National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute and Guyana Livestock Development Authority officers will visit the area to work with farmers. In addition to planting materials, they will also receive assistance with breeding animals for livestock as well as technical support for the cultivation of coconuts, cash crops, and other fruits and vegetables, the release added.
