Thousands of acres of paddy across Regions two, three, five and six are under threat due to a lack of adequate water and full blown water rationing is on the agenda if the situation worsens.
Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt told Stabroek News on Thursday that “we are now giving priority to farmers who would have cultivated, meaning that we have to give those who have sown priority to save their rice.”
He said that currently rice fields are being irrigated from the Pomeroon River but there is significant worry over possible salt in the water. “We already have inadequate water in the system so you cannot afford to focus on new cultivation, unfortunately,” the chairman noted.
Ramdatt, who has had a contentious relationship with the Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Two, Rupert Hopkinson, told Stabroek News that “we are calling on the REO to make sure he has a strong monitoring system, the rangers and overseers that they closely monitor. They should meet with farmers, we met with the GRDB [Guyana Rice Development Board]. We asked to do an advisory, if farmers haven’t ploughed and sown that they should not proceed to do that at this time because priority would have been given to famers who have sown their crop. I think generally the NDIA [National Drainage and Irrigation Authority], the rangers and overseers, the superintendents from the department have to be at the statutory meeting of RDC [Regional Democratic Council]. It was indicated that they
