Allocations in the 2022 budget for the Ministry of Agriculture will see a modernisation of infrastructure in the sector and the promotion of drone technology for farming purposes, Minister Zulfikar Mustapha yesterday told the House.
Mustapha noted that $13 billion has been set aside to strengthen drainage and irrigation systems for agricultural areas while $1 billion has been allocated under the Flood and Economic Recovery and Resilience Programme. This, he said, will pave the way for the urgent acquisition of the equipment needed to enhance flood protection and build operational capacity.
“We will continue to do large projects that will have impact on our country like the Hope Canal. We will be doing canals like that in regions 3, 5 & 6. We will start those work there so we can mitigate flooding and be better prepared for climate change”, he said.
With such systems in place it is expected that the agriculture sector will build its climate resilience with little disruption in food supply due to shocks such as floods thereby ensuring food security.
It was also stated that mobile pumps will be strategically placed in locations that are considered flood-prone, along with earth moving equipment (long and short boom excavators, mini excavators, and bulldozers) which will be purchased to help to augment the flood protection systems.
These interventions are regarded as important as most of the drainage and irrigation system is operated using gravity flow. The mobile pumps will accelerate the run off during heavy rainfall while the procurement of the additional machinery will upgrade the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority’s (NDIA) current fleet of machines.
Diverting from the plans of his ministry to improve drainage and irrigation, the minster blasted the former government, the APNU+AFC coalition for their purchase of the wrong types of pumps.
“…poor infrastructure, drainage, and irrigations problems became a nightmare for farmers under the APNU+AFC government. When we first took office in 2020, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority was plagued with inoperable pumps and excavators even though our farmers were paying exorbitant rates,” he said.
Referring to the pumps as “fire engines,” Mustapha said told the National Assembly that with the help of the Attorney General Anil Nandlall, they are trying to recoup monies spent for the purchase of those pumps that will not offer drainage solutions.
He also noted that under the former Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder, 75 per cent of the monies were paid for the procurement of the pumps.
Under this year’s budget, $1 billion, according to Mustapha, will be used for the construction and rehabilitation of pump stations across the coast, including one at Charity, Essequibo Coast, at a cost of $90 million, and at A-Line Sluice on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD) to the tune of $150 million. The pump station at WBD will benefit 3,000 acres of residential lands and farmlands for cash crops and rice in Versailles and the back of Canal No. 1 Polder.
Pump stations will also be constructed at Charity and Andrews, Essequibo, A-Line Sluice, West Bank Demerara (WBD), Greenwich Park, East Bank Essequibo, West Watooka, Linden, and Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, to irrigate the polder frontlands. A drainage pump station will also be constructed at Adventure, Corentyne.
$570 million has also been budgeted for the construction of sluices in the villages of Friendship, Wakenaam, Cottage, and Capoey, along the Essequibo Coast and some $90 million will go towards drainage improvements at Canals Polder WBD.
It is expected to benefit 3,000 acres of residential and farmlands for cash crops and permanent crops.
Meanwhile, the minister stated that under Flood Risk Management project there will be an investment of $1.2 billion for priority work at critical sections of the East Demerara Water Conservancy. Further, there will be an investment under the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agricul-ture Development Authority of $516 million for the acquisition of long reach excavators and tractors, as well as the elevation of dams and construction of channels.
“In 2022, over $1 billion is budgeted to procure 37 new mobile pumps to be installed along the coast, in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six, in areas identified to be vulnerable to flooding. Further, 100 tractor-driven pumps will be purchased to be utilised in all coastal Regions,” Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh disclosed in the budget presentation.
According to Mustapha, NDIA expended approximately $424.28 million in tractor pumping during the 2021 May-June flood period alone. It in light of this, he told the House that the investment of $95 million is vital and will improve pumping capacity for residential areas across the country as well as aid in significantly reducing costs during the rainy season.
Investment in rice
Moreover, the Agriculture Minister announced that this year they will finally introduce drone technology in the planting of rice. He noted that the previous government had sought to do so but failed.
With the successful use of drone technology by a farmer at Golden Fleece, Essequibo Coast in the last crop, the ministry will be looking to procure T20 drones to be used at the Burma Research Centre. By using drones to spray his rice crop, the farmer was able to complete three days’ work in half a day, thereby saving resources.
Additionally the ministry will be looking at digitising all rice plots in Region Five, the first exercise of its kind.
This technology will provide a more accurate representation of the acreage cultivated as well as a base for the monitoring and verification of rice production as it seeks to reduce future challenges and increase productivity. Real-time data will be generated and early advisories to farmers will be achieved, especially in instances of disasters such as floods and droughts.
In addition, Mustapha said that this year, they are looking at the introduction of new varieties of rice which will contribute positively to the sector. “By the autumn crop 2022, a new high-yielding candidate variety of paddy with excellent quality traits is expected to be identified and released by autumn 2024.”
He pointed out that there has been increased research on new varieties and best practices together with quality seed production and the mitigation of losses due to pests and disease.
“Additionally, one new bio-fortified zinc-enriched variety continues to be tested in 2022 at the research station and also regionally,” the minister told the House. He noted that this variety is in the process of entering its third trial cycle and once successful it will be released to farmers. This variety, the minister boasted, has great potential as it is not only nutritious but also lucrative adding that Guyana will be lone planter for this variety of rice in the Caribbean.
“Government will invest $49.5 million for the provision and installation of pre-cleaner and rehabilitation of a seed paddy facility at Onverwagt in Region Five to increase seedy paddy production from 9,000 to 50,000 bags per crop within the MMA [Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary], benefitting over thousands of rice farmers in that area,” Mustapha further stated before indicating that a two new drying floors will be constructed.
Turning his attention to sugar, Mustapha stated that government’s $6 billion subvention to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will be directed towards investment in the field and factory operations.
Critical capital works at GuySuCo will be done in the form of an investment in a new packaging plant at Albion, the continuation of the mechanisation of Albion field operations, expansion of the Blairmont packaging plant and the critical rehabilitation of Uitvlugt factory. He also informed that works will be done on the Rose Hall sugar factory which is earmarked for opening in the second crop of 2023.
There will be rehabilitation of the estate transportation routes that were damaged in the 2021 floods and the acceleration of mechanisation in agricultural operations at Rose Hall and Albion.
In the area of agriculture and food security, Mustapha said that Budget 2022 provides the investment required to propel the competitiveness of this sector and it has ignited the transformation of this sector.
“Our government through this budget has built a strong foundation to seize the opportunity to build our production capacity, to advance our agri-food system for Guyana to be a net exporter of food,” he declared.
