An $800 million irrigation pump station is under construction in the front lands of Black Bush Polder, Region Six and is expected to be operational by the second rice crop of 2025.
Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha shared the update during a community meeting with farmers at the Number 48 Primary School over the weekend.
Initially awarded to a contractor in 2021, the project faced delays due to poor performance, leading the Ministry of Agriculture, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), to terminate the contract. The project was subsequently reassigned to a new contractor.
“If you go to Black Bush Polder by the Canje Creek you will see that work is currently progressing to complete that project…The contract was rewarded approximately six months ago and the new completion date is around July of next year,” Minister Mustapha explained.
The project includes the installation of four 150 Qsec pumps, capable of delivering 252,000 gallons of water per minute to support farming activities in the front lands of Black Bush Polder.
This pump station is designed to provide a reliable water supply for rice cultivation while enabling better water management to reduce the risk of flooding.
Minister Mustapha highlighted that Black Bush Polder has 23,000 acres of land currently available for rice farming, which will benefit significantly from the improved irrigation system.
“We are already using 14,000 of that 23,000. So, we have another 9,000 and I am hoping that before the end of next week, we can use the other acres,” the minister disclosed.
The agriculture minister asserted that his ministry has been working assiduously since to increase the rice yield in the country over the past four years.
For the first time, the country is slated to surpass 700,000 tonnes of rice at the end of this year.
To ensure this is achieved, the government has implemented several initiatives such as the introduction of new rice varieties like GRDB 10, 16, 17 and the recently launched GRDB 18.
The government has also been subsidising the cost of fertilizers and other commodities.