Residents and Farmers of Parika (Region Three) are expected to soon receive potable water in large black tanks as well as shade house materials.
This was disclosed by Head of State Irfaan Ali yesterday during a community engagement with farmers and residents at Parika Backdam, East Bank Essequibo.
The prolonged dry season has affected the conservancy and farmers and residents are concerned about this, as many of them are dependent on water for domestic and commercial purposes. President Ali assured them that this will be addressed.
“We will ensure that we get GWI [Guyana Water Inc] to fill up some black tanks once or twice per week, and we will make contact with Mr Sheikh Baksh so that he can intervene in this situation,” Ali pledged. He was accompanied by Minister of Agri-culture Zulfikar Mustapha and representatives from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).
After one farmer expressed the dire need for shade house materials, Ali said that Mustapha would return to the village to assist. “We will bring down some shade house material in the new week,” he vowed.
According to Ali, this intervention will significantly enhance the cultivation of high-value crops in the area.
Another farmer appeal-ed for additional farmland for cattle rearing, but several residents complained about the farmer not having fences to keep his livestock, which resulted in damage and trespassing on their personal properties.
The President suggested that the farmers work towards erecting a fence to protect livestock. He also acknowledged the persistent challenge of land availability and stressed the need to employ modern cattle farming techniques to address this issue.
“We will have to get one common area that we will develop for all the cattle farmers… And we will look into this,” he said.
Other residents deplored challenges such as non-access to water, road infrastructure, drainage, and irrigation.
Ali pledged that the relevant authorities, including GWI, the NDIA and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) would return to the village to address such issues comprehensively.
He also restated that several projects are in the pipeline to boost the region’s agricultural sector, citing the Hope-like Canal, and additional irrigation channels. “Another thing we are doing is that we are investing in several mobile pumps that will be deploy-ed throughout the region. By the end of this year, we should have 40 additional pumps in the country to be deployed in different areas,” he highlighted.
Mustapha said that the government was working assiduously to address the woes of farmers in that region as many of them sell cash crops on a large scale.
