A delegation from the Ajeenkya D Y Patil Group is expected in the country in three weeks’ time to firm up its investment proposal for agriculture operations here.
This was confirmed by Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who told Stabroek News that the Indian company is continuing to work on an investment proposal with the Ministry of Finance, which will cover the terms of the agreement, including where, how much and in what areas the company will invest. This has not been finalised as yet, the minister said. Ramsammy noted that the company has staff here doing surveys and other groundwork under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed several years ago.
Last month, General Manager of the Group Dilip Kawad said that the MOU signed with the Government of Guyana is for the cultivation of over 50,000 hectares of land and is inpreliminary stages. “We must clearly state that no land has been handed over to us and neither have we commenced any activities on the said land,” Kawad had said in a statement to Stabroek News.
“The final agreement is still subject to the terms and conditions that are still under negotiations and will only be concluded when both parties are mutually satisfied,” he added. Kawad had further affirmed that the group was very committed to making this project successful; hence the need for lot of due diligence, pre-viability and technical studies before it begins operations.
While Kawad confirmed that the MOU was for 50,000 hectares of land, Ramsammy had previously told Stabroek News that the Group was already given 10,000 hectares in the Canje Basin. “DY Patil negotiated for an agricultural project in Guyana. They have been given access to 10,000 acres of land. They will, like other investors, have access to more land if they develop the 10,000 acres in accordance with the agreement that they have with us,” Ramsammy had said.
He noted that the Group has submitted a proposal to grow corn and sugar cane for biodiesel.
Ramsammy also noted that Guyana has three million hectares of agricultural land that has no infrastructure. “We have invited local and international investors to help develop that land. It is based on people submitting proposals to us and based on those proposals, we consider them and we sign Memoranda of Understanding to develop more details and to develop feasibility studies,” he explained.
He had said that MOUs are based on proposals and they are not tendered. Observers and commentators have raised questions about the deal struck between the government and the Patil Group, particularly because of the latter’s connection to powerbrokers here and because the government has provided no information on it.
Ramsammy never made mention of the 50,000 hectares but it has been repeatedly reported that the land deal was initially for 65,000 hectares based on a Government Information Agency (GINA) release last June.
