Minister Mustapha engages Windsor Forest residents, farmers

-excavator to start drainage work tomorrow

Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, on Tuesday, engaged residents and farmers of Windsor Forest and nearby West Coast Demerara communities, where he committed to ensuring that urgent drainage and irrigation works are conducted to bring relief to residents.  

The Minister instructed the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to dispatch an excavator to the community on Wednesday to start clearing the canals. 

During the afternoon engagement, residents voiced concerns about several drainage challenges and called for dams’ urgent rehabilitation. They also called for the construction of an all-weather road for farmers to transport their produce to market. 

One farmer pleaded for the Minister’s help to clean the cattle pasture in the community. Others called for stern action to be taken against persons found littering along the roadways and canal, which has contributed to flooding and inadequate irrigation for farmlands. 

At a packed pavilion in the Windsor Forest Community Centre, Minister Mustapha said, “a new wind is blowing in the Agriculture sector” and “hope will be restored” to resounding applause. He noted that the PPP/C administration is leading from the front and has been addressing residents’ concerns since it took office in August. 

“You have seen a total change of Government attitude toward the population. People’s standard of living has already started to improve. I want to tell you that these issues that you have raised here are things that we can and will address,” he said. 

After instructing the NDIA to start drainage works in the area on Wednesday, Minister Mustapha also called for a committee to ensure that the emergency works meet residents’ approval. 

“I understand that by the first week in March people will start to reap their paddy here so between now and March, we will repair the dams and you will have proper surfaces to travel on to bring out your paddy to the road. We will ensure as a Government, that we provide the necessary infrastructure and implement the necessary and supportive mechanism.”

Farmers were also asked to identify an area within the district for the Ministry to establish a check structure (a device inserted into a canal to control water flow, pressure and direction). This will allow them to utilise the water more efficiently by regulating its flow. 

Farmers can also expect an enhanced extension service by workers attached to their areas. The Minister emphasised the need for extension workers to be more responsive, and said that farmers would eventually be assigned to specific extension officers. 

Minister Mustapha’s engagement at Windsor Forest follows closely on his visit to Lowlands, East Coast Demerara where he hosted a similar outreach. He has also visited several other communities across the regions, and those engagements resulted in works that brought relief to scores of residents and farmers. 

The Minister was accompanied by the Director-General in the Ministry, Mr. Madanlall Ramraj and heads of several agriculture agencies including the NDIA, National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute and the New Guyana Marketing Corporation.