A significant amount of crops destroyed as a result of flooding – Min. Mustapha

An ongoing flood assessment has so far revealed that a significant amount of crops from areas that have experienced severe flooding, over the past two months has been destroyed.

This was disclosed by Agriculture Minister, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha during an interview with Brazil’s AgroMais News.

“Over the last two months, we’ve experienced unprecedented rainfall which has resulted in flooding in all ten Administrative Regions of Guyana. Between May 24th and June 10th, we’ve seen close to 20 inches of rainfall. This is the highest amount of rainfall we’ve seen since 1981.

This has resulted in Guyana’s southern basin between the upper Essequibo and Corentyne Rivers being filled and overflowing. Many areas in the Hinterland were also and still are flooded. Compounding that, with the heavy rainfall, we’ve seen higher than normal water levels in the rivers that have inundated most of the coastal areas. This has resulted in close to 90% of crops being destroyed, livestock being lost, and close to a thousand households been affected,” Minister Mustapha said.

As floodwaters begin to slowly recede in several areas, Government has commenced its flood assessment to determine the extent of the losses incurred across the country. Officials from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and officers from various agencies which fall under the Ministry of Agriculture have been visiting affected communities to gather data to determine losses. A team from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is also in the country conducting a Detailed Disaster Sector Assessment (DDSA) on the flood situation.

The Minister said the Government will need assistance with rebuilding the economy, more so the agriculture sector, when the floodwaters recede.

“Guyana will need a lot of help in terms of rebuilding the agriculture sector. Apart from what the government is doing, we will need help from our Regional and International partners. Our assessment report will be able to detail our needs and those needs will then be made known so that countries who wish to assist us can know what we need. IICA has already indicated that they will be supplying a number of vegetable seeds and planting material for cassava and plantains, bananas as a part of the relief efforts,” Minister Mustapha said.

The Minister also disclosed that Government is making preparations to effectively manage some of the impacts of the ongoing flooding. This, he added, includes the outbreak of water-borne diseases.

“In addition to carrying out flood assessments across the country, health officials have also been closely monitoring affected areas for water-borne diseases such as leptospirosis and other conditions like unusual diarrhoea, vomiting, and gastroenteritis. As a government, we are aware that an outbreak of such illnesses may be imminent so we are making the necessary preparations to ensure we have the necessary health facilities if an outbreak does occur.”

The minister said despite resources are limited, Government will continue to provide the necessary support to everyone who is affected.

“The immediate task of the Government is to ensure those who were affected have food supplies and potable water. We will have to provide food for most of the areas that were affected, especially the Hinterland communities.”

Minister Mustapha said Government will continue to offer support until those affected can return to normalcy.