Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha on Saturday heard complaints about extension services in Region Six and reiterated the government’s position that all flood-affected farmers will receive support to rebuild their livelihoods.
Mustapha and his team on Saturday met with residents, farmers and fisher folk in Molsen Creek, Crabwood Creek, Skeldon and Bushlot, Corentyne.
The minister stated, “I want to make this commitment, reiterate this point that the President has made, that every single person who would have lost their crops – rice, cash crops or livestock – we will work with you, we will help you and the government will ensure that you go back to the land, provide the necessary help to each and every one of you who have lost your crop or livestock.”
The minister stressed that following the flood an assessment would be done so as to determine the amount of help individual farmers require.
He explained, that while the water has started to recede in a number of residential areas in Region Six, the backlands remain submerged. “We are seeing the water level is still high, we are seeing that people would have lost their crops but cash crop and rice, we are seeing that people have lost their livestock in a number of areas and people need help.”
According to Mustapha, this is the first time in its history that Guyana has “experienced this type of flood” explaining that the previous major floods did not affect so many areas as this one. The minister also noted that the present flood has affected over 300 communities countrywide and “will be more devastating than the 2005 flood.”
He told the residents that while in Region Six pumps can be placed, canals can be cleared, areas can be empoldered and structures can be rehabilitated to get the water off from the land, in other areas nothing can be done except waiting for the water to drop in the rivers, “so it will take a long time.”
Mustapha further explained, that while 2 and a half inches of water can be drained in a 24 hour period, and they are seeing 5 – 6 inches of rainfall over 24 hours thus stressing the drainage system.
“Now we are working and we want to work with you. We are approaching this disaster in phases.”
Mustapha said that when the flood came there was about 40,000 acres of rice sown, and as a result a majority of the crops were destroyed. As such they must intensify efforts to drain the backlands quickly by placing pumps and clearing outfalls among other tasks, “and all the water from the backlands have to pass through the housing area, the residential area, so we have to ensure we drain the backlands.”
Meanwhile, farmers at Bushlot, Corentyne, complained bitterly that they are yet to the receive veterinary and other services as promised, while residents requested that certain drains be desilted immediately so as to allow the flow of floodwaters from their communities.
After the meeting, Mustapha told Stabroek News, “I was very disappointed that some of the areas we went people are claiming that they did not see some of the technical officers.”
The minister added, that a proper investigation would have to be done as to why the officers from GLDA and NAREI “didn’t go to these people and extend the kind of services that we have.”
He stressed, “People are complaining bitterly about our extension services in the region and we have to make it right. We have close to about 50 or more extension officers in the region and I think I have made it very clear from the inception that we have to work and we have to be more responsive to the needs of the people and it seems like some of these officers are not pulling their weight. I have asked the heads of these agencies to find out what is going on really in these communities.”
In Crabwood Creek, the farmers and residents complained about the neighbourhood democratic council and the water users association in that area claiming that they can’t even speak to “them when you go in there.”
Further, after persons claimed that the water users’ election was a “selection” rather than an “election” Mustapha noted that an investigation would be done and if this was the case then it will have to be redone immediately.
Meanwhile, in Molsen Creek rice farmers and private cane farmers were in high praise of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, which did some major works in the area prior to the flooding.
“If it wasn’t for that machine you would have seen the flood in this area but the operator work, sometime 12 hours. We buy food for him and the man work and we grateful for that”, one farmer said while receiving support from the others present.
The farmers also requested that the machine return to carry out some additional works. Mustapha undertook to do same as soon as a machine becomes available.
Further, the farmers in that area requested that the ministry hire sluice attendants as they relayed that they bore the burden of carrying out works in the area.
The minister relayed, that they would temporarily hire five sluice attendants “so that they can have regular drainage in these areas.”
