GUYANA’S OFFER to Barbadians and other nationals of the Caribbean Community for agriculture lands leased merely at BDS$10 per acre over a long period of years, has drawn sharply conflicting positions from spokespersons for the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP). Not surprisingly, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development Mia Mottley, who disclosed the offer following her recent visit to Guyana for the Trade and Investment Exposition (GUYEXPO), welcomed the gesture when she spoke of the potentials for both countries’ agricultural and economic development.
Barbados Labour Party position on the Guyana Land Offer
In contrast, the DLP’s candidate for St Michael West, James Paul, was dismissive. He deemed it “nonsensical” and “ridiculous”, and linked the offer to a claimed attempt by the Owen Arthur administration to divert Barbadians’ attention from problems of land acquisition at home with hopes of securing farmlands in Guyana. To follow current public discussions from political platforms, a realistic land policy, embracing issues of ownership, location and usage in the context of integrated agricultural, economic and social development, promise to be one of the major areas of focus for the coming general election. It is not clear whether the DLP’s Paul was reflecting the party’s thinking, or aspects of any related policy, or speaking on his own behalf. In the report published in THE NATION of October 9, Paul said his comments were to be considered in the context of his position as “executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS)”.
Democratic Labour Party position on the Guyana Land Offer
Source: Nation Newspaper
There is a saying, “when something looks too good to be true it probably is so”. The offer made to Barbadians to lease agriculture at $10.00 per acre in Guyana generated hot discussion last month in Barbados. Mia Mottley was the chosen Minister elected to deliver the good news to the nation. We got the impression that she believed Barbadians would have been leaving by the thousands the next day. The decision, we know, fits the government’s vision of a well functioning Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). So what went wrong with this offer? Why have Barbadians been lukewarm to the offer? The finite land space of Barbados, which is 166 square miles, and the skyrocketing price of land should have made this an attractive offer.
A report published in the Guyana Stabroek News paper provides a clue to what many Barbadians must have suspected. The article headlined “Interior agri blighted by transport, pest problems” details a litany of woes being suffered by farmers tilling the soil which span concerns about transportation, markets, pests and climate change negatively impacting their ability to be farmers. Surprisingly, when Guyana Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud visited the two farming areas yesterday (17 October 2007), he requested the farmers to be realistic by recognizing that his ministry had limited resources to respond adequately to all the concerns raised.
Here are two concerns which Guyanese farmers expressed yesterday when the Minister toured the area:
Hannah Williams from Micobie stated that acoushi ants were a major problem resulting in loss of crops and requested seeds.
(snips)
In the mountainous region, the availability of water was cited as a problem too with one farmer stating that there; they depend on the rainy season. “We don’t want chemicals, we want water”, the man said. Climate change was also on the minds of those present with Bell asserting that “now we can’t even predict the weather” adding that when persons expected rainy weather, it was dry and vice versa.
It is confusing to BU how Guyana could have made this offer to Barbadians and the local Guyanese farmers are experiencing so many problems. What are we missing here? Can anyone fill in the gap? We know that we are missing something!
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.