Farmers in Johanna, Black Bush Polder yesterday bemoaned the current condition of dams within the area as they pointed out that in a few weeks time their rice will be ready to reap and they might have to resort to using boats, an additional expense they will have to face.
According to the farmers, they have continuously been battling with the infestation of paddy bugs and are now concerned how they will bring out their rice due to the condition of the dams.
Kishore Arjune of Johanna South, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne stated that he planted over 103 acres of land, “Me get rice a bear, ghandi (paddy bugs) too much and you don’t see no assistance from the government or the people them, nobody come around.”
According to him, presently “the drainage water more high than the irrigation trench, me plant some rice in the savannah you don’t get no help, the government get some machine here, you don’t get no help from there, when you ask them the office people a push you around but them can help other …people who can give one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand them a help them.”
Arjune then informed that although they were promised aerial spraying would be done nothing has started yet in their areas. “Them promise we them go spray the dam and the air and nothing na start yet.”
Turning to the condition of the dams presently, Arjune said that the “government hymac park up all over the place and if them pass and see one bad hole in front a bridge … you got to tell them and pay the operator to full them or them gone straight.”
He added, “The dam affecting we bad, with them tractors we a punish, you got to use boat, more expense from you and next two and half weeks rice about to cut and no dam or drain na fix.”
Several farmers in Johanna relayed that they had requested the Water Users Association to have a machine full a specific dam which they can use but this was never done. Arjune said, “Three years now we ask them and them na do nothing.”
“When you got to use boat more expense for the farmers and when we done we barely get anything and when you go shop everything high.”
“We want some changes and we want some people look into these things”, he stressed.
Twelve days
Another rice farmer, Parmanand Budhoo, said that his rice will be ready to reap in the next twelve days “and look the dam condition, tractor even can’t reach to carry last dose fertilizer right now and the dam condition. Them get hymac sitting all over, if you get money and you pay them them go do one lil outside job but look this dam here condition abbay na know wah go happen.”
In terms of the paddy bugs, Budhoo said, “Paddy bug deh all over and them na help with the right kind of drugs, quarter pint drugs them give we, wah it go do? Me plant 45-acre rice and the rice about to reap already.”
He said, “When you ask them assistance in here them a say you got to get twenty grand, who get money it go to them and who na get money them don’t do it.”
Another rice farmer, Neville, said that he has planted over thirty acres of rice “and all we farmers affected right now.”
He said, “Paddy bug, dam bad them tractors can’t even meet down to back dam we ask let them track the dam, let we meet down, them na do nothing and paddy bug them give we quarter bottle to go spray ghandi.”
“Last crop ghandi suck out all abbay rice and nobody na come around and see nothing… Some trench them give them man to clean, them trench block up it get ghandi inside, presently abbay main trench in here fa carry water to sea that write off. All that them na see to look after. Them na do nothing for Black Bush people.”
Meanwhile, based on information gathered, in order to combat the paddy bug aerial spraying has since commenced in sections of the Corentyne.
