The impact of the current prolonged dry season is of major concern to the government, especially as it relates to the rice industry, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon,MLB Jerseys From China, said yesterday.Dr Luncheon said that drought-like conditions brought on by the El Nino weather phenomenon is affecting large scale farming, particularly rice cultivation,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, in the coastal regions. He said that the affected regions are Regions Two, Three,Cheap Jerseys China, Four, Five and Six.The government needs to worry about the implications for the rice industry because it accounts for approximately four per cent of Guyana’s total Gross Domestic Product.The domestic market for rice is important for the industry which is essentially an export-oriented industry with about 70 per cent of Guyana’s total rice production being exported.Approximately 10,000 families are in the rice-growing coastal regions. They have been described by Dr Luncheon as being affected by the dry spell. They depend on rice for their livelihood, he added.The Cabinet Secretary said that the level of fresh water in the conservancies where water is stored for use in the dry season has been markedly reduced.In the conservancies it is now not possible to release water directly into farmlands. It has to be pumped.Dr Luncheon said that options such as water diversion and water rationing are on the table as the authorities in the agriculture sector look to cope with the situation.He said that with the dry spell likely to continue on into March-April, other measures would be considered as necessary.Recently,Wholesale China Jerseys, Lionel Wordsworth, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), urged farmers and all users of water from the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) to conserve water as the water level in the conservancy had dropped below the “dead storage level.”The lowest safe level for the conservancy to provide irrigation water to farmlands is 53.50 GD and the level currently stands below that. The conservancy needs to be re-charged with water above the 53.50 GD level to fully satisfy the irrigation needs by gravity flow.As a result, farmers and all users utilising fresh water from the EDWC are advised to conserve on the use of water, avoid wastage and not to tamper with any structure that will affect the operation of the irrigation system.Wordsworth said that the NDIA has been conducting regular inspection of the conservancy. In addition, there is 24-hour security and monitoring of the EDWC.The conservancy holds water to irrigate farmlands during the dry season. Efforts are underway to better manage the conservancy.The World Bank, on October 11, 2007,NFL Jerseys China, approved what it called ‘The Conservancy Adaptation Project’, for overall, US$3.8 million.The project aims at strengthening the government’s and donor understanding of the EDWC system and coastal drainage patterns through the integration of advanced mapping and engineering analysis.It also aims at implementing infrastructure investments to improve drainage performance, to strengthen the institutional capacity for managing water and floodwater levels,NFL Jerseys China, and to guide interventions to reduce Guyana’s vulnerability to floods.The Conservancy system includes a reservoir, fronted by an earthen dam; drainage channels, used to release excess water from the reservoir during the rainy season; and a network of canals used to provide drinking water and irrigation during the dry seasons.Because of this system, farmers are able to realise two harvests of rice annually.