With large acreage of paddy across the rice-growing belt under threat due to a lack of water, blame is being cast at officials who were warned months ago of the strong El Nino but took no action particularly in relation to pumping water into the Tapakuma Conservancy in Region Two.
“Neglect by the Minister of Agriculture, mismanagement and incompetence by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) a Division of the Ministry of Agriculture as well as the RDC (Regional Democratic Council) have been responsible for the predicament of the farmers,” engineer Charles Sohan said in a letter to Stabroek News recently.
Stabroek News reported two weeks ago that 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
