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E’bo rice farmers halt harvesting due to poor roads
“View of a deplorable dam on the Essequibo Coast.”
Heavy rains and the poor dam preparations are reportedly the cause of the week-long delay in the harvesting of rice on the Essequibo Coast. This is according to the president of the Essequibo Paddy Association Mr. Naith Ram. Naith Ram said that it is the responsibility of the Regional Democratic Council to ensure that all access dams are well prepared for each crop.
He noted, however, that several machineries used by the RDC for land preparation, have been nonfunctioning for quite some time. Naith Ram said that as a result, the access dams were not prepared ahead of the harvesting season. The inclement weather on the other hand contributed to the rapid erosion of these dams.
He added, “The regional administration is aware that harvesting is soon to commence and it is supposed to prepare these dams. Now the rains came, the tractors with trailers, grader, and front end loader all down and the dams continue to wash away.”
Kaieteur News understands that due to its eroded state, most access dams throughout the Essequibo Coast are considered impassable during the raining seasons. Additional reports also indicate that harvesting has been delayed momentarily in some parts of the coast until the access dams are dry.
Based on a report from the Guyana Rice Development Board [GRDB], Region two is of particular interest largely because it has the largest percentage of smaller rice farmers. Commenting on the deplorable conditions of the region’s access dams, Regional Chairman Acting, Ms. Nandranie Coonjah said that “agriculture in Region Two is in a limbo since there were no machines available for the dam preparations.”
She added, “Farmers from as far as Better Success have been complaining about severe water in the back dam. Just the other day, three tractors were pulling out one load of paddy because of how deplorable the dams are.”
In the meantime, farmers are also being urged by the Essequibo Paddy Farmer Association, to aid in the preservation of access dams, by simply making outlets to drain them.
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