Cattle farmers in Region Six (East Berbice Corentyne) have turned to the Ministry of Agriculture for help after discovering that several of their animals were hacked and are now left with life-threatening injuries.
Those affected are the farmers who were forced to move their cattle to the front lands after their designated grazing areas in the backlands became flooded due to the heavy rainfall.
They reported that the injuries were allegedly inflicted by other farmers. In a statement on Thursday, the Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, condemned the acts and urged that persons desist from harming the animals.
“Over the past few days, cattle farmers from Berbice have been reaching out to me about the issue. Farmers have also engaged regional law enforcement. I’m hoping that things do not escalate further,” the minister noted.
“I know these are very troubling times for farmers who are trying to preserve whatever cultivation and livestock they have left. I’m urging farmers to work together and be their brother’s keeper because this flooding is a national issue that has affected us all. This is time for us to demonstrate compassion for life and our fellow farmers,” Minister Mustapha said.
According to the minister, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and the Regional Agricultural Coordinator, Dennis Deroop, are currently working with farmers to determine the reason behind the attacks and to resolve any conflict that exists.
Further, the GLDA and Regional Agricultural Officers are working with farmers to ensure cattle brought from the backlands remain housed in secure areas and away from farms and rice fields. The GLDA has also been providing feed free of cost to farmers.
Due to the onset of the rainy season in May, which resulted in the flooding of savannahs in Regions Five and Six, cattle farmers were been forced to relocate their animals to higher ground.
The GLDA has been using a pontoon to transport animals from the flooded savannahs to higher ground in the front lands and thus far, over 20,000 animals have been relocated.
