Jeffrey Jones, a seasoned farmer of 17 years and member of the Antigua and Barbuda Layer Farmers Association, finds himself in a dire situation after receiving an Enforcement Notice from the Development Control Authority (DCA) to vacate his farm within 28 days.
Describing it as a disaster, Jones is urgently seeking a meeting with Ministry of Agriculture officials to address the issue.
On Tuesday, February 6, Jones discovered the compliance notice affixed to a vehicle on his Burkes Estate, All Saints, farm.
He recounts receiving the 2.5 acres of land from the Ministry of Agriculture 17 years ago, following his relocation from Freemans Village due to the construction of a nearby church.
Initially, the land was overrun with acacia trees, which Jones spent approximately $12,000 to clear.
Additionally, he invested further funds in bringing an excavator to the location for additional work. He also dug a pond at considerable expense to ensure a consistent water supply for his crops.
Despite his investments and annual lease renewals through the Ministry of Agriculture, the DCA’s notice insists he vacate the property, citing it as private land.
Seeking clarity on his options, Jones is perplexed by the sudden turn of events.
With over 500 fruit trees and a poultry farm on the land, Jones feels the government’s actions contradict its purported support for farming.
Unlike his previous relocation facilitated by the Ministry of Agriculture, no alternative provisions are being offered this time.
Distraught at the prospect of losing his livelihood and family’s means of support, Jones expresses his frustration at the situation.
He highlights recent hardships, including the loss of nearly 2,000 chickens due to flooding on a rented farm in the Lightfoot area.
In essence, Jeffrey Jones, a dedicated farmer, faces imminent displacement, grappling with the upheaval of his life’s work and the uncertainty of his family’s future.- SOURCE: Real News Antigua
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Somebody up high up see all the work the man do and want the land to do the same, that ah all. They obviously weren’t expecting him to go to the ANR. You cya do the man like that !
Kicking our own people off lands our ancestors fought and died for to sell to the Chinese well well well well!!!!!!! When is Antigua people going to stand up 🙄🙄🙄
@ BRIXTONIAN ..Hon. Gaston Browne can never do anything right for you. Brixtonian stands for nothing but to criticize ABLP. You are a laughing stock on ANR. You offer no solutions but NOISE. Very sad.
this is the height a wickedness !!!!!
oh my goodness unuh leave the man alone how wi he survive!!!! the man ago stress an dead how can u all do this to the poor man who trying make a living this hurt me!!! this is why Antigua can’t bless too much wickedness you all doing to PPL
after the man hard work you all want to take away his livihood come on so many land out there
its because you are not an syrian, or chinese
Poor man can never win around These woods…
With all the vacant lands around Antigua full of Cassie trees and bush, why would they go after a productive farmer? This is so wrong and ill conceived. How is the man suppose to support his family when you takeaway his livelihood. This government only cares about themselves and then talk about empowering people. Yes they are empowering people alright to line up every Saturday at their radio station to beg for money from the PM.
My my my, please stand your ground against this vindictive government never give up the fight, this is a fight we Antiguans need to do now more than ever
There is something that has been observed over a period of time. When this Administration has done something positive that is good for everyone in our twin island state there are any number of us who are unwilling or not able to see anything positive. We have been conditioned to criticise without offering a possible solution and apparently some of us attribute every negative thing to Prime Minister Gaston Browne and we think we can insult this current Administration out of office. Maybe this is all part of the political process but it leaves a very sour taste in the mouths of the very people that have to go to the polls in 2028. Quite distressing and sad.
“…some of us attribute everything negative thing to Prime Minister Gaston Browne …”
My goodness gracious me @ Sharon, the man has had two full terms of failure, and also a lack of transparency whilst in office; and you think he should be IMMUNE from any criticism while Antiguans continue to go hungry, and try to keep a roof over their heads.
GIRL, GIVE YOUR HEAD A DAMN WOBBLE. PLEASE!
@ BRIXTONIAN ..Hon. Gaston Browne can never do anything right for you. Brixtonian stands for nothing but to criticize ABLP. You are a laughing stock on ANR. You offer no solutions but NOISE. Very sad.
@ Sharon
Is driving a farmer off his land something positive? We have offered a solution. Leave the man with his farm and find other vacant land covered in bush. Or better yet, take Gaston’s farm. Please Sharon, talk sense. But then again you are not Antiguan, so you say.
You @ Sharon, get a life. You must be getting paid to write your comments.
I suspect that the lady is a member of the Ghost-workers Club. They are all asked to intervene whenever there is decent.
I hear one side of the story NOW! But there are two sides to a story .. 2.5 acres is a lot of land .. what was the current agreement, what was being paid .. 17 years is a lot of years .. the reality is…it’s not his land … what was his end goal? to have this land forever.. come on…
@ real talk,man you are soo right!! This people are talking,just see one side of this unfortunately development. Their forget IS A CROWN LAND ( belongs to all of us= the state)..is sad for this gentleman not get (maybe) a opportunity to coming upfront with some cash (arrears) and pay the rest in various payments.
May god have mercy for him
Don’t worry folks. Sharon is not a real person. She was created with artificial intelligence. You know, Gaston Browne’s AI from. China.
I am not from Antigua but reading this story aches my heart ❤️ and let me tell you, this poor gentleman is not the only farmer around the world that is being forced off their land. You all might have heard what Bill Gates has been doing to farmers all across America; paying them lots of money for their land. People, this is an agenda. It is a set up to starve everyone. Stay prayed up, we are in the Endtimes 😢🙏🏼
I am at a loss to read all these on ANR. UPP OPERATIVES should investigate before writing. There two sides to a story. Stop sounding so STUPID. DUMB ASSESS
@ RUPERT MANN
At least you admit that you are so lost. You have a complaint about the articles published. Write a letter to the Editor of ANR
This is not a country where those who consider themselves media, gives what you call two sides.
The fact that you are not aware of it illustrates how lost you are. This is not a problem unique to Antigua and Barbuda. The CARICOM community lacks investigative reporters.
The situation described here should have been properly sourced by independent journalist; rather than waiting for commentators to speculate and insert their own bias.
What’s called news are politically sensationalized or rum shop and alleyway gossip.
Until you realize such, you will stay lost and confused. Hopefully you will soon get to that realization and stop sounding so STUPID and DUMB like an ASS.
@Endtimes watcher
You should be more concerned about The Evangelistic Christian Right who thinks Trump was sent by God. By every measure Trump is a narcissistic lying bigot, and the Evangelistic Christians have embraced him. Leave Bill Gates out of this with your conspiracies.
The Christian right has no concern about the number of souls who lose their lives trying to make their way through the Darien Gap; or this gentleman about to lose his livelihood.
The Christian Faith leaders in this Country have no concern for people like this Farmer who are taken advantage of everyday. The same people who are telling them every Sunday to prepare for the end of time stabs them in their backs with the politicians as soon as church service is over.
You are certainly among those waiting for the clock ticking on a seven-year Armageddon.
You don’t have to deal with the selfish and corrupt world we live in so Keep watching for that moment while we try to bring about some change for the better, in the world we know.
Make sure to file an appeal with the DCA before the 28 days expires. Study the Physical Planning Act. to understand the procedures. It will take a substantial amount of time to complete the appeal process so no need to panic just yet. Who is asserting to be the land owner? It might be possible to negotiate a lease. The farmer may have grounds to apply for title by prescription if the land really is private. If the Gummint gave him bad advice causing him to lose money he can sue them as well.
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