Government to Reclaim Idle Farmland as 30-Day Warning Issued to Non-Productive Farmers
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government will repossess idle agricultural land if farmers fail to begin production within 30 days, warning that too many people are holding valuable plots without using them.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show, Browne said farmers who have abandoned their land must act immediately. “They have 30 days, failing which the lands will be reallocated to serious farmers,” he said. “There are lots of people out there who would like to get agricultural land.”
He criticized individuals who keep government-owned farmland inactive. “They see all this land on the bush, not recognizing they’re already assigned to different people who are just holding on to them. They’re literally holding the land and not putting it on the bush… juicing. So that will come to an end,” he said.
Browne said the policy applies to everyone, regardless of political affiliation. He referenced opposition MP Algernon “Serpent” Watts as an example of a non-productive farmer. “Even people like Serpent and so on, if Serpent doesn’t start a farm again, of course we’re going to take them back. This has nothing to do with any form of political victimization,” he said.
The prime minister added that the government has confirmed multiple cases of abandoned agricultural leases. “We have proven, for example, that the man has 26 acres, one poultry… He has sold out all of his agricultural equipment. So we know he’s no longer in that space. But just holding on to the land. Just holding on to the land,” he said.
Browne said the reassignment programme ensures state land is used for food production and national food security, and that “many others… are just holding government’s land and not producing.”
He did not indicate when repossessions would begin but affirmed that enforcement would follow once the 30-day deadline expires.
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DEEEEEFLECTION #9
The concerted efforts by this ABLP government to avoid an independent investigation into the vehicle acquisitions procurement scandal continues unabashed.
Serpent’s name being mentioned is totally meaningless when there’s still no transparency or open governance from Gaston Browne.
Browne’s creates a bigger deflection than a meteor sticking a comet.