IN the wake of farmers in Aranguez suffering hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses due to flooding over the weekend, Agriculture Minister Ravi Ratiram says he intends to re-examine the compensation process to make it easier for farmers.

Standing next to a field of tomatoes and lettuce, covered by almost 18 inches of muddy water on Samaroo Trace in Aranguez, on May 18, Ratiram said the previous administration is to be blamed for the farmer’s losses.

Describing the farmers’ losses as “heartbreaking”, he said the failure to clear watercourses in a timely manner led to the flooding.

Ratiram said he is not surprised, though, by the destruction.

“Over the years in opposition we have been speaking out about the failure of the previous administration to maintain the water courses, to clean the water courses, in particular those water courses throughout the agricultural plots. And today we are seeing the effects of their failure.”

He said the facts of the situation supported his assertion of negligence.

“If you go on the southern side of the highway you'll recognise that there's no water like this. So the problem here is the water courses are blocked and the underground drainage across the highway itself also has been compromised because on the southern side of the highway the water level is very low whereas on the northern side there's an accumulation of water.”

[caption id="attachment_1155904" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Flooded farmland at Samaroo Trace, Aranguez on May 18. - Photo by Faith Ayoung[/caption]

Ratiram accused the administration of abandoning the farmers as he claimed the agriculture sector had been “brutalised and destroyed” by the previous administration.

He said farmers have been unfairly denied compensation after floods as the process had become too onerous with farmer registration and land tenure proving to be stumbling blocks for some farmers.

“These farmers have been good to feed the nation during a pandemic… but when it comes to providing them with support and relief, especially when they get flooded out, they have been meeting closed doors.”

Ratiram said that “disrespect” had to be stopped and this is why the process is being revisited.

“It should be based on productivity more than land tenure. Several of the farmers would have also had a lease, but it expired and because of that they cannot renew their farmer’s badge to provide them with that subsistence and that support.”

He promised to look at the compensation model which he said was minimal.

“It's very limited. It treats with seedlings versus bearing plants. Farmers would have invested significantly into the land preparation. Irrigation systems are being washed away and all the different chemicals and fertilisers wasted. All of that is losses farmers are going to incur.”

“We definitely need to look at some sort of compassionate relief that we can put in place for our farmers.”

Meanwhile, one affected farmer told Newsday, she was devastated as early estimates put her losses at no less than $140,000.

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