About 150 vulnerable farmers from Plegtanker to Mara in East Berbice, Corentyne are now benefitting from a Canada-funded project that aims to enhance their livelihood and capacity to handle agricultural disasters.
The Government Information Agency said on Monday that farmers in the communities surrounding Mara have had to battle with flooding. It said that these farmers are better prepared to manage this since the Caribbean Local Economic Development (CARILED) has provided the Mara Farmers Association (MFA) with a multipurpose mini excavator for installation and maintenance of all drains and irrigation canals, and preparation of land.
It has also trained members of the association in the areas of machine operation and maintenance, good agriculture practices, small farm management, low cost production techniques and post – harvest capacity building.
The US$94,500 (approximately $20M) Mara Agricultural Enhancement Project was officially commissioned on Monday at the Mara Community Centre. Present were Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker, Permanent Secretary Collin Croal, Councillor, City of Toronto, Canada and from Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Michael Thompson, Programme Director, CARILED Alix Yule and Regional Programme Manager, CARILED, Olaf Fontennelle, GINA said..
Mara is among 25 local development projects that CARILED is at present supporting in seven Caribbean countries , GINA noted. The Mara project was chosen following a series of engagement with the community.
