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Agri. Ministry to spend $1B for urgent flood protection equipment
– says Economic Recovery and Resilience Programme underway
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha
Kaieteur News – Since it is the priority of the PPP/C Government to modernise and upgrade infrastructure to advance water management as strategically guided by the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, $13B has been approved in budget 2022 for the expansion and strengthening of drainage and irrigation systems countrywide.
Of that allocation, the Ministry of Agriculture has said $1B will be invested in the urgent acquisition of equipment needed to enhance flood protection and build operational capacity. According to Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, mobile pumps will be strategically placed in locations that are considered flood-prone. He said too that earth moving equipment (such as long and short boom excavators, mini excavators, and bulldozers) will be purchased to help build the nation’s flood protection systems.
Mustapha said these two interventions are important since the majority of the nation’s drainage and irrigation system is operated using gravity flow hence these mobile pumps will accelerate the run off during heavy rainfall. He added that they will also be crucial to the update of the current fleet of machines of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA). Mustapha said this will improve the drainage and irrigation systems along with the flood-prone agricultural areas.
The Agriculture Minister said too that plans are in place to construct major outfall channels in Regions Three, Five, and Six that will be similar to the Northern Relief Channel at Hope/Dochfour, East Coast Demerara, which was conceptualised and constructed by the current administration before demitting office in 2015.
He said, “Had it not been for the Hope Canal, the majority of villages along the coastland in Region Four and Georgetown would have been devastated by floodwaters in 2021. It is impactful projects like these that will build the resilience of the agriculture sector. Our government remains resolute to ensuring the agriculture sector is equipped with the resources it needs and has the necessary infrastructure to aid the increase in domestic production and remain food secure.”
Minister Mustapha was also keen to note that in 2022, his ministry will embark on a Flood and Economic Recovery and Resilience Programme that focuses on long-term agriculture infrastructure development. He said the programme is intended to build the climate resilience of the agriculture sector and ensure food security by ensuring there is little disruption to the food supply due to shocks such as floods.
Towards this end, he said the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority has been allocated $11.3 B to carry out some major supportive works.
He noted for example that $90M has been allocated towards the construction of a pump station at Charity in Region 2, which will provide flood control for 400 families and farmers by draining 200 acres of farmlands for the cultivation of cash crops. This will replace the two mobile pumps in the area.
Another $90M will also be invested in the rehabilitation of the pump station at Cozier, also in Region 2, along with the installation of a new pump to improve drainage for farmers and residents for approximately 2,500 acres.
He said too that allocations have been set aside for the construction of sluices at Friendship, Wakenaam, Cottage, West Bank Berbice (WBB); and Capoey, Essequibo Coast. The sluices in these areas are projected to cost $80M, $350M and $140M respectively.
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