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Rice farmers at First Savannah, Mahaicony Creek, are blaming the authorities at the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) for causing them to lose over $7M in bearing rice crop that has recently been destroyed by flood waters.

The flooding has indeed taken its toll at First Savannah, Mahaicony Creek

Rice farmers Ramchand Bhola (left) and Ramcharran Joshan are claiming that there have been losses of at least $7M to flood waters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, a group of farmers visited this publication and claimed that they have been neglected for almost eight years, during which time they were β€œbegging and pleading” for improved drainage and irrigation in the area.
They said a dam that was supposed to be completed to prevent flood waters from getting to their rice crops has been left unfinished for several years now, thus causing rising waters during heavy rainfall to flood their rice fields.
The farmers said that in one instance, 150 acres of bearing rice plants were destroyed, while 60 acres of land with very young rice plants came under flood waters, thus destroying the entire expected crop.
They claimed that for years now the MMA/ADA has stopped cleaning a main irrigation canal in their neighbourhood, and it has become overgrown with weeds, shrubs and even bush, preventing any form of free flowing of water. They said as a result, even the canal overflows its banks, and does not allow excess water to seep out of their area, as would have happened if the canal was properly maintained.
They said that the MMA/ADA has cleaned areas but stopped up to Garden Table Village, an adjacent community in the Mahaicony Creek, and did not go further, despite the pleas and lamentations of the farmers in First Savannah.
The farmers said that for other areas to be attended to, they had to form large bodies and lobby their cause at the MMA/ADA Berbice office before any action would be taken.
Farmers Ramchand Bhola and Ramcharran Joshan said that when they approached the MMA/ADA office only last week, they were again promised that works will begin in their area, but nothing has happened until now. The men said that in some areas, the MMA/ADA has solicited the assistance of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), who allowed them to use machinery (belonging to the NDIA) to effect proper drainage in other areas. They said that despite their efforts, the machinery was not sent to their area at all.
The farmers are claiming that their area has been neglected for many years and are calling on the Government to intervene on their behalf.
When the MMA/ADA office was contacted yesterday, sources there said that systematic works have been ongoing in the Mahaicony Creek and Mahaicony River areas, and First Savannah farming areas are also on the list for works to be done.

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sachin_05 posted:

No Maintenance by the PNC in the area because no black man live deh...

. . . Yesterday, a group of farmers visited this publication and claimed that they have been neglected for almost eight years, during which time they were β€œbegging and pleading” for improved drainage and irrigation in the area.

the PPP administration running tings for the four "neglected" years before Granger mussbe did prappa hate dem Indo farmers . . . hmmm?

smfh

FM
ronan posted:
sachin_05 posted:

No Maintenance by the PNC in the area because no black man live deh...

. . . Yesterday, a group of farmers visited this publication and claimed that they have been neglected for almost eight years, during which time they were β€œbegging and pleading” for improved drainage and irrigation in the area.

the PPP administration running tings for the four "neglected" years before Granger mussbe did prappa hate dem Indo farmers . . . hmmm?

smfh

Oh rass, cousin Redux pon de attack soon marning. Watch, buy couple acre riceland and plant. Dis way de Govt. gon see a blackman deh deh and dem coolie people gon get lil ease.

Sheik101
Sheik101 posted:
ronan posted:
sachin_05 posted:

No Maintenance by the PNC in the area because no black man live deh...

. . . Yesterday, a group of farmers visited this publication and claimed that they have been neglected for almost eight years, during which time they were β€œbegging and pleading” for improved drainage and irrigation in the area.

the PPP administration running tings for the four "neglected" years before Granger mussbe did prappa hate dem Indo farmers . . . hmmm?

smfh

Oh rass, cousin Redux pon de attack soon marning. Watch, buy couple acre riceland and plant. Dis way de Govt. gon see a blackman deh deh and dem coolie people gon get lil ease.

Notice Redux does not mention Mahaica? Plenty blackman ah live deh. So dem belly must be full.

FM
skeldon_man posted:
Sheik101 posted:
ronan posted:
sachin_05 posted:

No Maintenance by the PNC in the area because no black man live deh...

. . . Yesterday, a group of farmers visited this publication and claimed that they have been neglected for almost eight years, during which time they were β€œbegging and pleading” for improved drainage and irrigation in the area.

the PPP administration running tings for the four "neglected" years before Granger mussbe did prappa hate dem Indo farmers . . . hmmm?

smfh

Oh rass, cousin Redux pon de attack soon marning. Watch, buy couple acre riceland and plant. Dis way de Govt. gon see a blackman deh deh and dem coolie people gon get lil ease.

Notice Redux does not mention Mahaica? Plenty blackman ah live deh. So dem belly must be full.

De man studying how fuh reply. Give a chance. 

Sheik101
ronan posted:

the PPP administration running tings for the four "neglected" years before Granger mussbe did prappa hate dem Indo farmers . . . hmmm?

smfh

Drainage canals in farming areas are sprayed with weed killer maybe once or twice yearly as need. This can be done by farmers with spray cans. But also needed to be desilted with trackhoe  every four to five years. So use your PNC congress place acquired IQ to figure out the time line and come again... 

sachin_05
sachin_05 posted:
ronan posted:

the PPP administration running tings for the four "neglected" years before Granger mussbe did prappa hate dem Indo farmers . . . hmmm?

smfh

Drainage canals in farming areas are sprayed with weed killer maybe once or twice yearly as need. This can be done by farmers with spray cans. But also needed to be desilted with trackhoe  every four to five years. So use your PNC congress place acquired IQ to figure out the time line and come again... 

guh argue with dem farmers . . . i gon hazard a guess that they know a whole lot more about their situation than a dribbling punk like you

is dem seh dis:

β€œYesterday, a group of farmers visited this publication and claimed that they have been neglected for almost eight yearsduring which time they were β€œbegging and pleading” for improved drainage and irrigation in the area.”

done

FM
ksazma posted:

That eight years correspond to the period when the APNU and AFC either combined or as a coalition were the majority in parliament. During those eight years, they did everything possible to cripple development for the people of Guyana. Their spiteful behavior spared none especially the people they felt were PPP supporters.

i just saw off wan high tree limb the other punk planted heself pan

now i got another idiot infantile, swearing he clever, shaking he batty pan wanadda sorry-ass rotten limb

drugbesque

FM

Clueless on the path for destruction of rice and sugar

 
 

Is it a deliberate effort to kill rice and sugar because the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) sees these industries as People’s Progressive Party (PPP) strongholds? Or is it that APNU/AFC is clueless? They are clueless about rice and sugar, but they will not shed a tear if both rice and sugar die sooner than later. Oil will not save Guyana, although oil will be a boon together with rice and sugar. Just look at Nigeria, Venezuela, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. They all have oil, but oil is not saving them. APNU/AFC is dead wrong that Guyana can do well without rice and sugar.
The PPP called for a resumption of talks with Venezuela for a new contract under the PetroCaribe arrangement where Guyana buys oil from Venezuela and sells rice to them. Maybe such talks could prove useless, but what is there to lose? In fact, there is much to gain. The Agriculture Minister dismissed this idea totally. But then days later, President David Granger announced that Guyana is still pursuing a rice deal with Venezuela. What is going on? Does the proverbial right hand know what the left is doing? Talk about clueless!
Having lost the Venezuelan market, the Government has done nothing to re-establish that lucrative market, nor has it pursued other markets. We heard of the Mexican market, with a lot of huffing and puffing and beating of chests by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, but has anyone noticed how quiet he is about the so-called breakthrough with the Mexican rice market? Incidentally, we were very active in pursuing a market in Mexico too, but realised that because of The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and high tariffs, Guyana would not find a very profitable market in Mexico.
We were already advance in talks with other Central American countries and was already sending rice and paddy to Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua and were talking to Costa Rica and African countries. These efforts were stalled after May 2015 and APNU/AFC essentially took another approach, announcing that it is not the Government’s responsibility to look for markets, but rather it was the responsibility of the millers. The PPP Government had actively sought new markets and helped consolidate the traditional markets. We encouraged and facilitated joint and independent efforts by millers and other stakeholders.
The PPP had also called for APNU/AFC to create certain other incentives for rice, such as improving duty-free and subsidised access to equipment and supplies, such as fertilisers and paddy seeds. Not only did APNU/AFC rejected this proposal, but they had previously removed the waiver on Value Added Tax that the rice industry enjoyed before. The PPP had also called on APNU/AFC to hold discussions with banks to re-negotiate loans and for the Government to waive drainage and irrigation and lease payments for rice farmers. All of these were rejected by APNU/AFC.
Clearly, APNU/AFC has no interest in supporting the rice industry. We see further evidence in the fields. Farmers have received no support to drain and irrigate their lands. These were taken for granted when the PPP was in office. Today, farmers have been left on their own to battle the everyday challenges. Take for example the farmers in Mahaicony who were flooded because a Government-neglected dam broke and there was no one there to give support.
These signals from APNU/AFC reflect both a clueless Government and one that cares very little if rice and sugar survives. It is possible that for the first time after about 10 crops, rice production will be under 300,000 tons for the first crop for 2016. After reaching 500,000 tons in 2013 and 600,000 tons in 2014, we failed to reach the 700,000 tons in 2015 and we appear to be slipping below the 600,000 tons for 2016. Clearly, rice is on a downward trend even after just one year of APNU/AFC.
But the downward trend is across the board for agriculture. Sugar for example fell about 30 per cent below the target for the first crop of 2016. They have become secretive because they know that production overall have fallen dramatically across the board in agriculture. Incidentally, they have gone silent on Skeldon which produced just about 5000 tons of sugar in the first crop.
While agriculture and, in particular, rice and sugar, are now on a downward trend, APNU/AFC is both clueless and uncaring about the very industries that are the pillars of the economic potential of Guyana. As APNU/AFC consume themselves in the Jubilee, the pillars of the Guyanese economy are left abandoned in uncertain and turbulent waters. Sooner or later, APNU/AFC will realise it is too late to stop another period of relentless economic destruction and increasing poverty in our beautiful Guyana. (Send comments to doc_ram@hotmail.com)









FM
cain posted:

Oi man you jus crawled out from under a rock or wuh, check the date banna?  Yale rass fit over that hit already. Wuh happen y'all running out of stuff fo fite over? 

I purposely put the date to show how long the neglect was, wah wrand with yo rass. 

I see Mother Nature will bless your eye sight for a few more weeks.. enjoy Fenlon Falls . 

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