Mr. Aubrey Charles

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Rice farmers in the Mahaica/Mahaicony area have capitulated to demands that they remove the structures they erected over the past week to divert irrigation water from the main irrigation canals.One of the blockages.According to General Manager of the Mahaica Maichony Abary/Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), Mr. Aubrey Charles, on Tuesday, all the pumps that were erected to feed into the source of the irrigation canals have been removed by the farmers.“All the farmers have removed their pumps and water is gradually building up,” he said. “And water will be able to be distributed evenly. The only problem is some of the stop offs left behind.”Charles noted that while the MMA/ADA moved machinery into the area to complete the clearing process, it also had to deal with some mechanical problems.Meanwhile, it is understood that the MMA/ADA board will be holding a meeting today, where one area of discussion would be whether punitive measures against the farmers should be taken. Charles noted that while the matter will be discussed, his entity will not necessarily want to antagonize the situation.Charles also impressed on the farmers the need to be more co-operative with the system of water distribution, in order to ensure that all can benefit.Over the past week the rice farmers closest to the Mahaica River, in a bid to get increased water supply to their fields, had reportedly used excavators to block the main irrigation canals and also diverted the water to their fields.When asked to remove their equipment, it is stated that farmers justified their actions because of potential losses owing to the dry weather patterns of El Nino.The canal that was filled in and blocked.Commenting on the stand off on Sunday, Charles had revealed that the drama has been unfolding since last week Tuesday.“We are in El Nino and we have two pumps in Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary pumping water from the Mahaica River into the irrigation system,” Charles had related. “(However) those closest to the source (river), are pumping water with no regards for the farmers farthest away.”Emphasizing that they were not given permission to do any of these things, he went on to relate that these farmers had taken their excavators and blocked the main irrigation canals, to confine the water to their farm lands.Charles related that a team of officials visited the scene of the standoff on Saturday and instructed the farmers to remove the excavators. However, he stated that this order was ignored.Charles has described the actions as being very disappointing especially given the fact that farmers face so many challenges in the wake of the prolonged dry weather.Farmers have had to use irrigation pumps with very little effect, forcing the intervention of the MMA/ADA and the National Drainage and Irrigation Board.The MMA as well as the National Drainage and Irrigation Association (NDIA) has been monitoring the situation. It is understood that pumps have been working round the clock as well as workers have been testing the salt content of the water in the irrigation canals.