Mahaica Creek farmers engage Agri Minister in drainage talks

Georgetown, GINA, May 16, 2007.  

Drainage and irrigation and agricultural development took precedence at a meeting with Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud and residents of Mahaica Creek on May 15 at the Little Biaboo Primary School.

Regional Chairman of Region Five Harrinarine Baldeo and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth attended the meeting.

Minister Persaud said representation was previously made by some residents to have the weeds along the creek sprayed to allow faster outflow and that a sum of money will be made available to carry out this activity if residents are willing to collaborate with the Rice Producers Association (RPA. Weeds in the Mahaicony Creek are being sprayed under a similar arrangement.

Another issue relating to the Mahaica Creek and which is currently engaging

Government’s attention is the Perth/Biaboo canal. Initially, farmers, mostly those in the rice industry, requested construction of a check structure in this area to guard against flooding. The request was examined and an outlet was established. However, during consultations, other farmers objected to the project.

 Engineers have since examined the situation and prepared a proposal with three alternative locations which were presented to all farmers and residents for consideration. Farmers are required to study the proposal and provide feedback within the next three weeks.

Foremost among the issues was the work of the excavator which was assigned to improve individual lands during a two-day schedule to each land owner. This arrangement was put in place earlier last year after residents made representation for improvement of the area’s D&I system.

Some persons reported that their areas were excluded from the schedule. Minister Persaud said engineers will revisit the area later this week to conduct geographical inspections and resolve that and other issues.

The high cost of fertilizers was raised and Minister Persaud explained that there is little that Government can do since the cost has risen due to the increase in global demand. However, he noted that ideas are being explored and suppliers are being encouraged to source the item from other countries at cheaper prices.

Farmers were urged to form groups to purchase bulk supplies which will reduce the cost.

The Minister updated residents on actions being taken by the Ministry to address issues that were raised during previous meetings including the need for improved extension services and for more marketing information.

Under the new extension service programme, several farmers were recently trained to serve as extension agents in their respective communities while a manual has been published to provide information on crops cultivated locally. The information is also available on discs which would encourage farmers to familiarise themselves with the computer.

In addition, five information technology centres have been established to inform farmers on modern technologies. This model and approach, Minister Persaud told residents have proven successful in many other countries including India.