Dear Editor,

Farmers in the Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary regions who depend on these three rivers for drainage have a great fear of flooding. They gambled on the Autumn crop, but what will be the outcome for the coming Spring crop 2009-10? Farmers lost millions of dollars on the Spring crops 2007-08 and 2008-09. With climate change all over the world, Guyana is no better. When will work on the Hope canal start, and when will it be completed? The next heavy flooding of the Mahaica and Mahaicony Rivers may sweep away the houses.

Cleaning the mouth of the Abary River cannot prevent flooding because the river is silted up with debris and fallen trees. In addition, it is broader around the conservancy dam and the MMA/ADA embankment dam on the right bank of the river. It is like an L shape, and during flooding the water has nowhere to spread but just keeps rising and floods the left bank where farmers plant rice and rear livestock.

We know it is a great risk, but we wonder if any insurance company could insure our crop.

Yours faithfully,
Rudolph Singh