Pump station and sluice commissioned at Herstelling

CEO of the Caricom Development Fund,  Rodinald Soomer (DPI photo)
CEO of the Caricom Development Fund, Rodinald Soomer (DPI photo)

The Ministry of Agriculture through the Rural Agricultural Infrastructure Development Project (RAID) yesterday commissioned a Pump Station and Sluice at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara.

A release from the Department of Public Information (DPI) said that the new structure will serve Herstelling, Providence South, Barnwell, Junor and Mocha Arcadia. These areas, the release said, are known for the cultivation of plantains, banana, ground provision, citrus, mangoes and other cash crops.

Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, in his address at the ceremony, highlighted the work done by the Ministry thus far under this initiative.

The pump in operation (DPI photo)

“Under the project thus far, we have constructed 7.52 km of new irrigation canals, excavated and rehabilitated 67.6 km of irrigation channels and 70.6 km of drainage channels. We have also rehabilitated 32 km of fair-weather dams. Land clearing of 400 acres and 297 acres of land preparation have also been achieved. I must point out that the land preparation (ploughing and chipping) are contracts awarded through community participation to the co-operatives in these areas,” Holder said.   The project is funded by the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF), which has disbursed US$18.94 Million for projects in Guyana since February of 2014, over their first two funding cycles.

CEO of the fund, Rodinald Soomer explained the funding.

“The CDF’s Second Country Assistance programme for Guyana, of which this pump station is one component, was approved on July 21, 2016, and signed on December 12, 2016 for funding totalling US$10.4 Million [GYD $2.1B], comprising a blend of grant financing of US$3.8 Million [GYD$795.6M] and a loan of US$6.6 Million [GYD1.4B]. To date, 88.3 % of the approved amounts for this second cycle programme have been disbursed and this programme is also on course to be completed on time and within budget.”

Under the project, the President’s College Farm will also be rehabilitated as a part of the initiative by the Ministry of Agriculture to further promote agriculture in Schools