General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Jagnarine Singh on Wednesday said that 19,993 acres of the rice crop were threatened and 1,144 acres were affected by recent flooding.
In brief correspondence with this newspaper, Singh noted that efforts were being made to improve the accessibility to fields, to ensure that all rice cultivated this crop can be harvested. He added that “with the onset of the present La Nina conditions, the rice harvesting was always under some threat.” Harvesting for the first crop, he explained, usually commences in March and peaks by the second week in April. The current rains, he further noted, are seriously affecting the current harvest.
The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), according to Singh, has put its entire staff on high alert and has been collaborating with the Ministry of Local Government and to do everything possible to ensure that all the rice cultivated is harvested. All the senior officials of the MoA, including Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, have been deployed countrywide to make the necessary immediate interventions in areas where it is still possible.
Persaud, he and other officials, Singh said, met with local government officials to discuss certain strategic interventions needed to improve the accessibility to rice fields. During this current La Nina phenomenon, Singh noted, Guyana is experiencing more rains than in the past.
However, the figures released by the GRDB General Manager do not correspond with the numbers previously reported by the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (GRPA), which indicated that more than 35, 000 acres or 20% of the current crop was affected by the situation. Singh said that the figure was “not a true reflection of the situation.”
GRPA General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj had told Stabroek News on Tuesday that approximately 20,000 acres were affected to varying degrees on the Essequibo Coast, another 10, 000 acres in Region Three and about 6,000 acres would be under threat due to the rising level of the Mahaica Creek. Seeraj was very specific that not all the rice was flooded but it was nevertheless affected by the current weather.
Several farmers from Cane Grove, Mahaica subsequently reported that about 4,000 acres in that area is under water. Farmers Hemchand Singh, Narine Lall and Ramdat Mangra reported that their rice fields were under about two feet of water and that plants had already started to rot.
Hundreds of other Cane Grove farmers, they said, were similarly affected. Approximately 5,000 acres is cultivated in the area.
Meanwhile, speaking with Stabroek News briefly via telephone on Wednesday afternoon, Persaud said that ease in rain had resulted in water levels decreasing. He said that the sluices leading out of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) were being shut off. This, according to him, would immediately decrease the threat level to the rice in that area. Seeraj had explained that if the Mahaica Creek kept rising due to the additional strain put on it to relieve the EDWC, then about 6,000 acres on the eastern bank would be under threat.
When asked about whether it was untrue that more than 35,000 acres had been affected countrywide, the minister said: “I do not want to contradict that statement.” He added that with the mounting challenges caused by La Nina, there has been “panic reaction.” The next two days, Persaud explained, will be crucial in terms of determining just how much of the threat to farmers in the Mahaica area will be eliminated or at least decreased.
Rain is expected to continue until this weekend. However, the minister assured that MoA is in action.
Meanwhile, yesterday, the GRDB said with “good weather” over the last two days farmers have deployed combines to their field. The GRDB is advising that Grain Carts should be used as much as possible in taking out paddy from the fields. If grain carts are not available, the GRDB said, Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Agricul-tural Development Authority will assist in proving this facility. In areas where canals can be used for transporting paddy, access to punts can also be made available. For further details farmers are advised to contact the GRDB extension officer in their area.
