The Chairman of Region Six, David Armogan, yesterday opined that the region is in desperate need of a land policy to settle the issues between cattle and rice farmers in the Upper Corentyne before the problems further escalate.
A long-simmering feud between Upper Corentyne rice and cattle farmers turned deadly two weekends ago, after six cows were shot and killed.
Two rice farmers who were arrested on Thursday last have since been placed on $30,000 bail each, as the investigation continues. They are being accused of shooting six head of cattle that were reportedly in the vicinity of their rice fields.
The incident was the latest in a dispute between rice and cattle farmers in that area, which has been ongoing for a number of years now. Rice farmers have previously called for cattle owners to ensure that their animals do not stray into their fields.
Armogan yesterday stated that he believes the implementation of a land policy would settle the issue.
“You have to be able to provide the facility for cattle people to operate in a cattle area and you have to demarcate where cattle should be and where rice should be; there is no land policy in the region and that is what is causing the problem,” he said, adding, “Everybody is doing everything everywhere”.
According to the chair-man, although initially, Kokerite Savannah was designated as a “cattle pasture”, the lease for the land was given as an “agriculture lease”.
He explained that after some persons realized that the lease was for agriculture, they decided to plant rice in the area. “Many people, because rice was paying better than cattle at the time, many of them converted those areas into rice producing areas and that is what is causing the problem because Kokerite got cows right around the area there and you got people planting rice just around the area, so it will always be a problem,” he stated.
“There needs to be a complete demarcation with a fence and the facilities of water and so need to be put into the cattle area. You know, people are just grazing all over the place because there is no designated area really for cattle,” he related.
Additionally, Armogan explained that under the last administration, a conscious decision was taken not to give out parcels of land but to convert it into communal pastures. “You can’t give parcels of land to people, maybe they can develop it by themselves for cattle rearing but if you do that then they are future people coming in, if you give out all the lands where will they go?” he questioned.
Armogan said also, that in making a decision to settle the issue, the livelihood of the farmers must be taken into consideration. He explained that if persons were to be stopped from planting rice in the area, they would be affected, while if the pastures for grazing were moved further down to the back of the area, cattle farmers would then be affected by the distance.
However, he stressed, that it is noticeable that tension is brewing between the cattle farmers and rice farmers and the matter might escalate further. As such, he said it is important for officials to pay heed and come up with a timely solution.
