A brand new $75m pump has been installed at Crabwood Creek, Upper Corentyne following a meeting with Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha where farmers pleaded for the same to assist with flooding in the area.
At the meeting with the Minister held some three weeks ago, the farmers had complained that whenever it rains heavily or there is a hide tide, the koker in the area cannot be opened as such the floodwater lodges on the land for several days often destroying their crops.
With the installation of the new pump, the farmers are anticipating that during the May/June period, they can benefit from twenty-four hours drainage as whenever the koker is not working the pump will come into play to remove excess water from their farmlands.
Region Six Chairman, David Armogan yesterday said that the farmers had explained that “what happens is that the water remains on the ground sometimes two, three days, especially with heavy rainfall.”
He pointed out that whenever rain falls heavily and water lodges on the ground for more than two days then the cash crops are wiped out most occasions. As such the pump is a needed and timely intervention.
He stressed that not only cash crop farmers would benefit from the pump but also rice farmers within the area.
According to Armogan, Mustapha after listening to the plight of the farmers at the meeting promised to assist with the pump “so that whenever the koker is not operable the pump should work to push the water off the ground.”
The installation of the pump at the Crabwood Creek location started several days ago. Describing the 80 cusec pump, Armogan said, “It is pretty big so it can push a lot of water off the ground so maybe in a day and so it can take off about an inch or inch and a half water.”
Rice and cash crop farmer, Jainarine Dhanraj also known as ‘Vicky’, yesterday praised the minister for the installation of the pump. According to him, “That go benefit us nice for the May/June time because when the rain fall hard the koker shut the pump go pull out the overflow water… It go do abbay nice a back deh to pull out the water because when the koker shut the water a run in back in all body farm, in all the koker box them, so it go do abbay very nice so that is a great job the government do for abbay here.”
Cash crop farmer, Mahendranauth Lilman said, that they were in dire need of the pump, “you can’t stop flooding if rain go fall so the pump go help we.”
