Rice and cattle farmers are in conflict over land use
– Minister directs high level team to find solution
By Malisa Playter-Harry
The team sent by the Minister of Agriculture sat at the head table.
Part of the rice and cattle farmers.
People listen attentively during Monday’s meeting.
Kaieteur News – Dozens of rice farmers from the 52/74 Villages in Berbice on Monday were up in arms over a letter drawn by the Consumer Association for Water (WUA) to remove cattle that have been grazing in their rice lands and destroying their crops. This has been an issue for many years but no permanent solution has yet been found. Meanwhile, it has caused friction among rice farmers and cattle farmers. On Monday they clashed verbally, and attempts were made again to resolve the situation.
The letter issued by the WUA enraged cattle farmers, but when Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha arrived, the farmers were having major problems, that a team, including Regional Chairman David Armogan; Regional Agriculture Coordinator, Dennis Deoroop; CEO of Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), Dr. Grayson Halley; Chairman of the Board of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Lionel Wordsworth; Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture, Attorney at Law, Umdat Chandan; Regional Vice Chairman, Zamal Hussain; send them to listen to the plight of the frustrated farmers.
The chairman of the 52/74 WUA areas, Ahmad Rajab, who was involved in the meeting, told media representatives, by letter, that permission had been granted to impound the animals found grazing on the grounds. This, he said, has been happening for the past 14 years.
However, a few days ago, he revealed that the attorney attached to the Ministry of Agriculture had advised Minister Mustapha that the act does not allow WUA to “pound on the NDIA structure. ‘It was reported after receiving the guidelines from the attorney that the Minister had given directions to withdraw the letter. Rajab said that when that information was passed on to the rice farmers, they were annoyed and demanded that the letter go through and that the animals were pooled. They all gathered at the WUA building in Village No. 63 where the team met them and a few cattle farmers also showed up. There, they argued over the best solution to resolve the issue.
The two sides disagreed with each other and there seemed to be no solution in sight. Debates focused on the cattle venturing into rice farmers’ lands and grazing on their crops. They emphasized that the issue had been a protracted one and they are “fed up,” and want to end the matter immediately.
Cattle farmers, on the other hand, claimed that their animals were poisoned and killed by the rice farmers. They argued that those present could not make any decision to resolve the issue and therefore wanted direct intervention from the Minister. After the intervention of Wordsworth, Chairman of the NDIA, the farmers calmed down a bit. Rice farmer Ramgoolam passionately insisted they get 200 rolls of wire and 5,000 poles to fence the area “now!” He said that the last few years ago given by the late Agriculture Minister Satyadeo Sawh, that had worked well for rice farmers and cash crops. However, due to work undertaken by NDIA to clear drains caused by heavy flooding, the fence was destroyed and never replaced.
Another farmer suggested that NDIA clear the canals and place the debris on the ground around the canal and then build the fence. This, he said, would hold the fence stronger in place. He added that when NDIA has to carry out future work in the area, the fence will not be affected, this has been agreed by all farmers. The NDIA Chairman praised the young farmer for his suggestion. Deoroop, the Regional Agriculture Coordinator, also noted that the Guyana Rice Development Board is about to conduct a survey to determine the losses caused by the farmers.
Meanwhile, Armogan, the Regional Chairman, revealed during a post-meeting interview, that the Minister had since directed that the letter issued by the WUA be withdrawn. He said his administration was now tasked with finding a solution to the “old age issue” and that “the time has come where we must find a solution.” Armogan said the Agriculture Minister “intends to do that and that is why he sent us here today to look at solutions so that he can find the resources to implement those solutions.”
He added, “one thing that was set up here today was that the Consumer Association of Water does not have the authority to issue an animal impoundment letter. So the Minister was right to say that he was withdrawing the letter. We are trying to find a solution where we can have an area for cattle so they don’t wander around and destroy other people’s rice and cash crops. ”
He also said that it was suggested that there is an area “far down in the savannah where, once we can fence a certain area; GLDA is looking at that and I’m sure GLDA will carry the suggestion to the Minister. They said they will need about 200 to 300 rolls of wire and about 5,000 posts to surround the area so that the cattle do not graze in the rice lands. Once we can find another area for cattle and separate rice and cattle, it can be the solution to the current problem we have, ”he said.
In addition, President of the Rice Producers Association, Lekka Rambridge, has indicated that having the fence will not resolve the issue permanently but will be sufficient until an area has been earmarked exclusively for cattle grazing.