Rice farmers who are preparing to harvest say their crops would be affected if the (MMA/ADA) decides to raise the level of water in the canal to facilitate “late farmers.”
On Wednesday the farmers met with MMA General Manager Aubrey Charles to share their concerns on the issue. The farmers said that if the water level is raised water would seep into their rice fields and cause them to suffer losses.
In response Charles told them that the other farmers met with him on Tuesday and explained that they planted late because of rain and other problems and needed water to irrigate their fields. He said their crop is between 70 to 80 days old and they requested that the MMA open the irrigation system. Charles said the MMA was reluctant to comply due to the losses farmers who are ready to harvest would suffer but after consultations with Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud he was instructed try to accommodate both groups. Charles said MMA then “agreed to put water in the [main irrigation] canal at a certain level…” and that farmers would then be able to pump through the secondary canal.
