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Relief is on the horizon for 25 farmers who have been experiencing water shortages at Newcastle in St. John.

That is because the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) has embarked on a project which is expected to alleviate this recurring problem.

This was revealed by Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick, who pointed out that water was available in the catchment area; however, the farmers were unable to access it for irrigation purposes.

"Water is there, but it bypasses them. So, what we had to try to do was to devise a method to capture the water that runs down the hills, create the appropriate catchments and then put in the necessary plumbing infrastructure to be able to direct the water," he said.

Manager of Agricultural Services at the BADMC, Ronnie Brathwaite, estimated that by year-end the plumbing system should be installed and farmers should be able to access water.

CEO of the BADMC, Andrew Skeete, explained that the project would ensure that some 150 acres of farming land in Newcastle would be more productive.

He pointed out that the project was a joint effort with the Newcastle farming community. "They have made a significant input in relation to the project. They would have committed man hours in terms of labour, clearing the catchment itself and would have been working side-by-side with the BADMC to implement this project," Mr. Skeete said.

andre.skeete@barbados.gov.bb

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