- Timehri farmers encouraged to engage in crop diversification
Construction of an access bridge at Alliance Road, Timehri on the East Bank of Demerara is scheduled to commence in a few days.
This was disclosed by Agriculture Minister, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha during a meeting with farmers on Wednesday.
Minister Mustapha said the contract was awarded to R.S. Builders for $74 million and mobilization will be done before the end of the week.
“We already awarded the contract for $74 million for one of the bridges; the one at Alliance Road. Construction will commence in a few days. The contractor will begin mobilization before the end of the week so in a matter of days materials will be on site to commence construction. I also spoke to the Minister of Public Works and they will do the second bridge so both bridges will be done by this governmet,” he explained.
Farmers present told Minister Mustapha that a lot has been done to improve the drainage and irrigation infrastructure in the area but explained that more work is needed.
Responding to issues raised, Minister Mustapha said the Ministry through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will work with farmers to ensure all of the drainage problems are addressed and encouraged them to join the farmers’ groups in the areas.
“We’ll help as many persons as possible. I believe if we can work with groups rather than individuals, we’ll produce more. So, all the drainage works that were mentioned, we’ll do. We have the NDIA engineers here. They will look to see what needs to be done and work out a programme for those works. Those works will commence in the coming weeks,” he noted.
Furthermore, Minister Mustapha told the farmers that the government has invested heavily to support agricultural activities in the area. He also told farmers that support will be given to assist farmers with crop diversification to boost production and that the New Guyana Marketing Corporation will assist with securing markets for their products.
“We have to examine the possibilities of expanding cultivation by planting different crops. Most of you cultivate lettuce but we have to look at other crops. Crops that we have ready markets for. NAREI will meet with you to see what you need; they will do the necessary soil tests to determine the types of crops suitable for the area then we’ll give you all the planting materials you need to expand. The New GMC will also assist you with the markets for these crops,” he added.
Farmers will benefit from free acoushi ant bait and other inputs such as seeds and agro-chemicals.
