Farmers and other large-scale farming companies were advised to plan ahead as an unusual weather forecast was predicted for the May-June period.
This was disclosed on Tuesday during the 14th National Climate Outlook Forum (NCOF) by Climatologist of the Hydrometeorological Service, Ministry of Agriculture, Komal Dhiram.
The forum, which aims to raise awareness of key preparedness, response, monitoring, and reporting requirements was hosted at Herdmanston Lodge.
According to Dhiram, the May-June season will be much wetter than usual, but will quickly change to the opposite.
“This wet season is slightly different from those that we forecasted over the recent years. So, the first part of the season is likely to be wetter than usual or above average rainfall, but towards the end, we are going to have a drastic change into a dry period. This dry period will eventually lead to a drought,” he pointed out.
He explained that the seasonal outlook aims to provide information on the predicted forecast which will help people, particularly farmers to improve their decision-making.
Dhiram encouraged persons to find innovative ways to cultivate and care for their crops.
“So, it will mean that farmers or those large-scale water users will have to harvest this water properly because going into July and August…you will have dryness.
“Cash crop farmers, you may want to focus on what is happening in the ground, keep the focus on the daily weather forecast…so you make plans on the shorter crops.”
He also urged that alternative measures such as collecting water from trenches and conservancies as well as cultivating drought-tolerant crops be considered.
The forum, which facilitated a question-and-answer segment, saw participation from a number of departments under the Ministry of Agriculture such as the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), National Agricultural Research Extension Institute (NAREI) and many more.
In recent months, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall have been assessing and ensuring pump stations are operable to ensure the efficient flow of water.
Several clean up campaigns were also conducted to clear the drains and other water ways to assist in flood mitigation.
The Ministry of Housing and Water has also been drilling a number of potable water wells to ensure adequate water supply.
