The four Guysuco Estates in Berbice have been out of operation as the harvesting and burning of sugarcane have been adversely affected by the inclement weather. Private farmers have also lost their produce.
An official from the Blairmont Estate told Stabroek News (SN) yesterday that “it shows that flooding is in the cultivation and the harvesting period has been affected by the intense rainfall; there is no possibility of reaping the cane in this weather because we cannot burn.”
He said apart from that “no other work can go on. There is no cane so the factories cannot operate.” The official also pointed out that “Guysuco is at a crucial point where harvesting and cultivating is concerned.” February is usually a dry month but the La Nina phenomenon has precipitated heavy rain.
The official said he was hoping that the weather would be favourable soon so the work can commence. He said that operations at the Skeldon, Rose Hall and Albion estates have also been interrupted. The official also cited the deplorable conditions of the dams as one of the reasons causing the work to be stalled.
According to an official from the Skeldon Estate, “the flooding in the canefields including the expansion has been recorded at 20.4 inches already for this year. He told SN that “harvesting has been seriously affected.”
Meanwhile other sections of Region Six and Five have also been inundated, resulting in the loss of rice and cash crops as the level of rainfall proved to be higher than what the drainage systems could handle.
Some farmers told this newspaper they are trying desperately to save their crops. Region Six Chairman, Zulfikar Mustapha told Stabroek News that he visited several areas yesterday and “had to move machinery to undertake emergency works.”
He said the drainage system caters for 1.5 inches of rainfall in 24 hours but up to yesterday the level had risen to about 4.5 inches. He admitted that the farming areas have been affected as well as the low-lying residential areas like John’s at Port Mourant, Nigg and Hampshire on the Corentyne where the water had entered some homes.
He said, “The water level is high in all the canals but it is not so threatening as yet to affect other residents. All the sluices are working around the clock and when they are closed the pumps start working.”
Two pumps have been installed at Number 43 Village and at Eversham and one each at Liverpool, Borlam, Seawell and Rose Hall. The chairman said he was very disappointed that some of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) have not undertaken required tasks to alleviate flooding.
The chairman also met with farmers on the East Bank of Berbice but not much flooding was reported there, expect at Highbury. Farmers complained that a resident installed a tube, two feet instead of four feet, and it has prevented the water from draining adequately.
He has instructed the engineer to return to the area on Tuesday to put mechanisms in place to have the problem rectified.
Over at Region Five, chairman, Harrinarine Baldeo said his region is “not generally affected” but residents in Blairmont have experienced flooding. The Blairmont Estate pump has been working to provide relief.
Residents of Number 28 and 29 Village related that their homes and gardens have been flooded. The chairman said though, that when he passed through the area he noticed “slight flooding.”
He said the water recedes “as the tide is falling” but could not say if the Trafalgar pump had been put into operation.
The chairman pointed out though that the riverain areas like Abary, Mahaica and Mahaicony are still inundated while at the St. Francis Mission the water is “above the normal [flood] level.”
