Cash crop farmers of Clonbrook, East Coast Demerara are devastated that their crops will not survive due to the overflowing of the Clonbrook middle walk trench. The trench is responsible for sustaining the inland farming areas that have been carved out of the rich vegetation.
Chaitram Manaram stands amidst one of the ruined beds of cash crops. Workers tried to harvest as many cassava plants as they could save
Most of the farmlands, which are measured in beds, half of an acre, have been family- owned for multiple generations. As the heavy rain persisted over the last four days, farmers are upset that the lack of proper drainage has allowed for their farmlands to be flooded by the overflowing trench water.
Farmers reported that the drainage system has been compromised because persons are interfering with the crown dam that is connected to the Clonbrook trench.
“The altering of the drainage systems make the trench overflow,” stated Chaitram Manaram, a local Clonbrook farmer who is also a member of the Civil Defence Commission.
He said the overflow of the trench results in the destruction of millions of dollars worth in cash crops. Manaram, the owner of over 32 beds of farmland, all cultivated, are under two to three feet of water in some areas. Manaram said that his losses are in excess of two million dollars, not including preparation work and the cultivation of the land.
In addition to his losses, Manaram reported that the savannah farmland is without an electrical pump to de-stress the area when flooding occurs. Additionally, Manaram said that the two doors for the Ann’s Grove koker are not open, nor do they function cohesively.
“This isn’t just rainfall, this is the water that is strayed away,” Manaram told Guyana Times International.
He was adamant that the heavy rains only assisted the trench in overflowing. The farmer said that the drainage of the trench is horrible, and even when farmers properly irrigate their beds of cultivation, when the trench cannot empty properly, the bed irrigation works against farmers and backs up, flooding the crops.
Manaram spoke passionately as he stated the Agriculture Ministry is failing to address the needs of the savannah farmers. Manaram noted that he would like to see the Agriculture Ministry acknowledge that they have some responsibility to the farmers and that compensation may need to be discussed.
