Farmers saving $1.6B annually thanks to reversed D&I, land rental fees

Thousands of farmers across Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) are now saving $1.6 billion in drainage and irrigation (D&I) charges and land rental fees thanks to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

Chairman of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth reminded hundreds of residents about this initiative at a public meeting in Novar, Mahaicony.

Back in 2017, the then A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (AFC) coalition government significantly increased the D&I charges in the Mahaica/Mahaicony area.

This plunged small and medium-scale farmers into distress as they were forced to pay between $3500 -$15,000 in land rental and D&I charges.

When the PPP/C assumed office in 2020, “One of the first things our president had to do…was to return $1.6 billion to our farmers’ pockets by removing the D&I charges that were raised,” the chairman declared.

Significant resources were also invested to improve the drainage and irrigation systems, while farm-to-market access roads were created to alleviate transportation challenges for farmers across Region Five.

Guyana is the only country out of 186 that is fully self-sufficient in food production. Wordsworth stated that this success was not by chance.

This means the country’s agricultural output is sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of its population.