A group of farmers from central Trinidad are challenging claims from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that they are involved in squatting on State land.
In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, Central Farmers’ Association president Dhanraj Balkaran and members of the organisation said they were willing to debate Dr Rowley on his claims made while addressing a People’s National Movement (PNM) political meeting in Arima last Tuesday.
“All of the farmers hold land tenure documents and some are before the courts requesting the renewal of documents from the Commissioner of State Lands, who has unlawfully refused to do so. On that basis, the PM is called upon to explain where and why he called the central farmers ‘land grabbers’,” they said.
Rowley made the comments as he sought to address a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Balkaran to Youth Development and National Service Minister Foster Cummings, for details of the ministry’s Youth Agriculture Homestead Programme.
Suggesting the request as instigated by the Opposition, Rowley stated that some of Balkaran’s members were evicted by the Land Settlement Agency as they illegally occupied State land.
“This letter is complaining on behalf of people who illegally took hold of State land,” Rowley said, as he described Balkaran and his members as “land grabbers.”
“No one can displace you off your land,” Rowley said.
Rowley also rejected the suggestion that young persons interested in agriculture should not benefit from the programme.
“Who are you to say that the Government has a programme to encourage agriculture and some applicants from the East-West corridor are strangers and should be denied access? No way,” he said.
“I say no more on that but if they want to debate, I am ready for that,” he added.
In the FOIA correspondence, obtained by Guardian Media, Balkaran’s lawyer Richard Jaggasar claimed that his client, who has been the head of the organisation for the past nine years, was concerned by the announcement of the programme, as he had been advocating over the safety and land ownership of his members for several years.
“Firstly, he represents over 100 farmers, mostly former Caroni Limited employees who have been pleading for decades for proper title documents to lands vested to them,” Jaggasar said.
“While they have been ignored, an announcement has been made that out of nowhere, 200 vacant two-acre parcels have presented themselves,” he added.
Jaggasar claimed that his client was also concerned about how the ministry selected 200 participants out of 1,600 applicants, as he was unaware of any young farmers from central Trinidad being selected.
“In these circumstances, his members have to wonder if the process was rigged against them,” Jaggasar said.
He also took issue with Cummings’ comments that the LSA would help develop the plots that will be given to participants following completion of the training programme.
Jaggasar claimed that the LSA was responsible for bulldozing some of his client’s members’ crops last year.
“In these circumstances, these displaced farmers have to wonder why the LSA is evicting them but is allowed to assign lands to strangers to the agriculture sector,” Jaggasar said.
He suggested that the land should be assigned to existing farmers, as no training would be required for them to begin cultivation.
In the statement, the farmers also denied that Balkaran was aligned with the Opposition United National Congress (UNC), as they pointed out that he went up as an independent candidate in the last Local Government Election for the Felicity/Endeavour district.
“The 100 farmers of central, now joined by the Korea Village farmers accept the PM’s invitation to debate and suggest any day any time, in central he is welcomed to debate them, so long as he can find it,” they said.
