Crops destroyed in Penal floods, farmers call for compensation

Heavy and continuous rainfall in south Trinidad destroyed about 60 acres of crops in Penal, and the affected 100-plus farmers are calling on the authorities for compensation.

Several affected farmers gathered on Monday at the Poodai lagoon, off Goodman Branch Trace, Penal, to highlight their plight.

Solomon Mohammed said he lost six acres of watermelon. Within the past three weeks, it rained heavily for some days, and farmers pumped water out of the lagoon. On Saturday and Sunday, heavy rains flooded the land.

“We could not save anything this time. Three acres were already ready to reap, and the other three in the next three weeks. I lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. We need some sort of compensation from the ministry,” Mohammed said.

Two major issues faced by affected farmers are some do not have farmers' cards or proper deeds for the land.

“Maybe 50 or more farmers do not have their farmers’ card and will not be able to access the flood relief grant if they (government officials) decide to give us. We want the Agriculture Minister to help us.”

Mohammed, a registered farmer, is a father of two. He is also the sole breadwinner of the family. Apart from watermelon, he plants other short crops such as ochro and bodi. He said he normally plants 15 acres of crops yearly. But lack of money owing to the pandemic caused him to scale down in 2021.

In January, at the start of the dry season, the Met Office said this year’s dry season would have more rainfall than usual in most areas.

While the farmers are accustomed to flooding in the rainy season, they said they never expected it so early in the year.

“Sometimes the water would cross this road, flooding both sides. But that is usually in the rainy season. We did not expect this amount of rain,” another farmer said

Isaree Kanhai, 67, said he planted two acres of crops and lost all to the flood.

“Everything is underwater. We cannot do anything about it at this time.”

Samsundar Doon, 53, lost one acre of crops, including bodi, ochro and watermelon.

Councillor Diptee Ramnath, vice-chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, also met the farmers on Monday.

“The crops are under at least four feet of water. We are calling on the minister and, by extension, the Prime Minister to intervene to ensure these farmers are properly compensated so at least they can continue to plant crops next year,” Ramnath told Newsday.

Most of the farmers, he said, had consignment from agro shops, hardwares, and tractor operators.

“They need to clear up their bills. The corporation is always willing to give any assistance. Most of the responsibilities fall under the Agriculture Ministry. The officials from the ministry are here and have been visiting daily.”