-Essequibo farmers count losses after recent severe weather destroyed crops
Farmers along the Essequibo Coast are counting significant losses after a squall and heavy rainfall last week, with one farmer saying entire crops were wiped out and months of investment lost.
Hansmattee Sookwah, a farmer from Riverstown, Essequibo Coast, told Kiskadee Watch yesterday that the prolonged rainfall destroyed large sections of her farm, leaving her and other farmers in the area struggling to recover.
“The rain do damage in the garden. The water damaged the plants and they died,” Sookwah shared. Crops including her boulanger, pepper, cucumber and bora were severely affected, with yields reduced to a fraction of what she and her husband Mohan Sookwah would normally get. “We had plenty losses. From five or six bags of boulanger, we barely got… not even a quarter bag,” she said.
Without the financial resources to hire labourers, Sookwah said she and her family carry out all agricultural work themselves in an effort to keep costs down. “We don’t have workman. We do everything ourselves; we pick and sell ourselves the little we get,” she said, noting that whatever they are able to get is sold at the Suddie and Anna Regina markets.
Sookwah said they are now attempting to restart production by preparing their land for replanting. She observed that other farmers in the area are also dealing with the same situation.
According to her, some assistance was provided by agricultural authorities. “Two agriculture officers from Anna Regina gave us a bag of fertilizer, nothing else,” she shared.
Farmers in affected communities are now hoping for additional government support as they seek to recover from losses that have wiped out crops, damaged farmland and threatened their livelihoods. Calls by Kiskadee Watch to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and Regional Chairman Devin Mohan were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Andrieko Basir, originally of Charity, Essequibo Coast, said on his Facebook page that the recent storm has caused tremendous losses for farmers in the Pomeroon River, destroying crops and severely affecting their livelihoods.
“On behalf of the affected farming communities, we respectfully appeal to the Government of Guyana to provide urgent assistance. Support in the form of planting materials, agricultural inputs, financial relief, and any other available resources would go a long way in helping farmers recover and restore their livelihoods,” Basir said.
He observed that the resilience of the farmers has always been the backbone of the Pomeroon’s agricultural sector and that with timely assistance, they can rebuild, replant, and continue contributing to the nation’s food security. “We sincerely hope that the relevant authorities will respond with compassion and urgency during this difficult time,” he said.
Apart from the destruction of crops, the severe weather also caused structural damage across the Essequibo Coast. More than 100 roofs were damaged in communities across the region after powerful winds accompanying the storm tore through the area, affecting homes, schools and public infrastructure and leaving many residents scrambling for emergency shelter.
Strong winds ripped off roofs and damaged structures including the Anna Regina Multilateral School, Riverstown Primary School, the Anna Regina Fire Station and the newly constructed Anna Regina Stadium.
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