Diario las Américas., 1958-07-02
Know thv
Neighboi
sv ANTONIO RUIZ

VENEZUELA n GuarlcO
River Dam, a project among the
largest of its kind in the world, is
beginning to supply adequate ir-
rigation to some 300, 900 acres of
level land located in GuaricO
State, the greatest part of which
is being used for cattle raising.
In Venezuela, as is the case in
most of the tropical countries and
regions of the world, there are
only two seasons every year = dry
and rainy. During the dry season,
the land becomes parched for lack
of water; during the rainy season,
on the other hand, swollen rivers
flood all the lowlands, causing TX
tensive an very costly damages.
These extreme conditions r
now corrected with the compile
ton of the great dam across the
Guarico River, which is 9.5 miles
long and is located to the north
west of the city of Calabozo. 1t was
designed to hold flood waters in a
81, 200 acre lake storing 486 billion
gallons Of water. During the dry
months, or from November to
May, the water that has been stor-
ed in the lake is released through
hundreds of miles of irrigation
bitches.
The work in the most complex
sections of the structure, which
was started in 1854 and completed
last year, was done by the Ministry
of Public Works, while other Sec
tions were awarded to private con-
tractors. After the project was
completed, it was transferred to
the Ministry of Agriculture and
Livestock for development.
The selection of that section of
the country for the project was
made after careful study by Gov
eminent agencies. Located in the
central plains, or 'llanos," the
study by Government agencies. Lo-
Gated in the central plains or
"~llanos," the region has very good
soil, excellent for growing a varie-
ty of grass, which has fed cattle
there for several centuries. The
climate, moderately warm, is heal
thy. The State is the second larg-
est in cattle raising in the coun-
try, after Apure State. 1t is con-
nected by good roads with Cara
cas-, 191 miles away; Valencia, 1850
miles, and Mracay, 140 miles. These
three cities are the largest mar
kets in Northern Venezuela.
Guarico State, with a popula-
ton of zoe 5000 has 3.3. per cent of
Venezuela'S total POPULATION, in an
area of 25,637 square miles, or
7.3 per cent of the country's terri
tory. The average population per
square mile is about half of the
country's average. Sixty per cent
of the population of the State is
located in rural areas against SO
per cent in other parts of Venezue-
la.
Although this is essentially cat
tie country, farming is by no
means neglected. OF rural pro-
pertieS counted in the last census,
more than half were devoted to
agriculture, but out of $500, 900
acres under cultivation, nearly Z
100000 acres wer pastures. In
these pastures grazed nearly a
million head of cattle or 16 per
cent of the total in Venezuela.
Government officials have felt
for a long time that section of the
country is a potential cattle empire,
and may be turned into a model
for the rest of the plains, if the
right kind of men are attracted to
the land. Hence the irrigation pro-
ject now completed.
The project, however, is not re-
stricted to irrigation and flood con.
troll. II includes development of a
program of direct aid to settlers
in the form of comfortable and
substantial homes, technical ad-
vice, identification, INFLAMMATION,
pest control, soil analysis, fertiliz.
ers modern equipment, bank loans
and the amenities of life to make
living conditions attractive enough
to deter settlers from giving Up
their properties and seek employ
ment in urban ~centers, as it has
happened so often in the past.
, Spanish Version Page 8