With overtopping from the Canje Creek and excess water in the savannahs, the entire cultivation of the Albion Sugar Estate is currently under threat according to General Manager Threbhowan Shivprasad.
Speaking with Stabroek News yesterday just after he concluded a field visit, he said that the estate’s 9,616 hectares of sugarcane are threatened by excess water.
“We have a drainage system designed to take off 1 and ½ inches of water but when you have over 3 inches of rainfall it is trouble much less when the drains and canals are already filled with water,” he said.
According to Shivprasad, almost all of the cultivated fields with the young plants are submerged and mature plants stand the risk of rotting.
He explained that while they are trying to save the crop cycle it is very difficult to do as the water levels are unbelievably high.
“All the water from the savannah is rushing down here to the residential lands now and we are seeing water in our cultivated lands. This is something we haven’t really seen,” he explained, prior to stating that “This situation is likely to disrupt our first crop for 2022 because we will not have enough canes to meet production targets.”
He stressed that they are doing everything in their power to try and save the crop.
The general manager said they have since deployed excavators to empolder the cultivated lands and vulnerable areas. Irrigation pumps have been placed at strategic points to discharge excess water.
“All the water from Black Bush area and the Canje Creek area has been rushing into the cultivated cane fields because it has nowhere else to go. For weeks the Canje Creek has been overtopping because of excess water. The pump station in the Canje Creek is also flooded so it is a terrible situation,” he disclosed, also stating that dozens of head of cattle have died as a result of the extremely high water levels.
The estate in its bid to save the crop has installed mobile irrigation pumps at Ankerville, Nigg, Chesney, and Babu John, to facilitate faster drainage of water.
