The Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agricul-ture Development Authority’s (MMA-ADA) Land Dispute Resolution sub-committee is now in place, according to a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha met and informed the three-person sub-committee that there were a number of pressing land dispute matters in the MMA scheme that they would need to review. The sub-committee is headed by Justice Cecil Kennard (Ret’d), and comprises former CEO of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Andrew Bishop and Lands and Surveys official, Jewel Cheong.
“The creation of this sub-committee arose when the Attorney General and I were discussing land issues that were coming out of the MMA scheme. There are legal issues pending there and there are a number of issues with land distribution. There are hundreds of acres of land that were leased to people who are residing overseas. In turn, they are renting it to small farmers who are forced to pay double or triple the cost of the lease fee in rent. As you know, we have a new Board of Directors for the MMA. I’ve tasked the new board to present new proposals because we want to start works on the second phase of the scheme.” the minister said.
The minister told the three-member sub-committee that its mandate would be to look at the disputes between the farmers and provide timely proposals and suggestions on how the MMA and the government can resolve those issues amicably among the farmers.
“We are looking to double rice production over the next five years. Last year, we produced 1.2 million metric tonnes of paddy. In five years we hope to produce 2.4 million metric tonnes. That means we have to open more land, and bring these lands under cultivation. This also means we’ll have to settle land disputes in areas that have already been developed. Farmers have been coming to my open days and meeting me at outreaches with open conflicts and bad relations”, the minister asserted.
The minister also informed the members that the MMA Board will also be looking at developing a zoning policy because of conflicts between cattle, rice and cash crop farmers. A draft Terms of Reference is expected to be created shortly and the sub-committee will review and present recommendations shortly after.
