Farmers clash with contractor over access to Ste Madeleine land

Two farmers are expected to appear in court following a confrontation with a contractor over access to agricultural lands in Ste Madeleine on Monday.

Guardian Media visited the site off the M2 Ring Road, where officers of the Southern Division handcuffed the men after they blocked a dump truck and a pick-up from proceeding. Prior to their arrest, farmers Garette Greenidge and Nigel Bowen indicated they belonged to an agricultural group that had cultivated the land for nearly 20 years, but claimed the contractor had been encroaching on their plantation. He claimed the contractor stated they had received a licence to occupy 20 acres of land three months before the general election, which includes the cultivated area. Greenidge and others are now calling for a formal investigation.

The farmers showed a cut chain that previously secured the plantation, claiming it was the fourth time someone had tampered with the barrier. Greenidge said they had spent approximately $6,000 in materials to repair the damage.

“Here is an unsafe place at night because people will come with their girlfriend, or they will come to eat in the late hours, so we have this guard. We put it down in the day, and we put it up in the night. This is not their entry point, yet they cut the chain and move this (post) about four times,” Greenidge said.

By the time Guardian Media arrived, no one occupied the dump truck or pick-up. The farmers said those individuals fled upon noticing the presence of the media. Greenidge questioned the legitimacy of the contractor’s actions.

He further alleged that the contractor had only recently obtained a three-year licence, not a lease, and accused the authorities of failing to conduct proper research. Greenidge said the entry point in question was not the official access to the land, which lies closer to the nearby Anglican Church. That point, he said, had been closed for some time. He maintained that the farmers had created the current access road and had applied for legal tenure of the land for years.

He pointed to one of the contractor’s employees as the person responsible for cutting the chain and claimed road materials had been dumped near three acres of sweet potatoes, which they were preparing to harvest.

The farmers said they planned to stage a hunger strike, but met with Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Ravi Ratiram, who promised to intervene. However, the contractor allegedly continued to drive equipment onto the land.

Greenidge said he no longer felt safe continuing the interview, as one of the contractor’s employees stood nearby recording them. Bowen added that they would not leave, even if the truck ran them over or the police came to arrest them.

When police eventually arrived, they listened to the farmers’ account. A plainclothes officer asked whether the EMBD had authorised them to restrict access to the roadway. Greenidge said the path was not a designated access point but one the farmers had created themselves. The officer questioned them about the reported destruction of another road and whether they had the authority to obstruct State property.

The farmers continued to refuse to move, and police later arrested them, allowing the heavy equipment to pass.

“Minister, you see what’s going on here. We are under real pressure, and they are not stopping. We have crops in the ground, and this is to feed the nation. How could they go against this? How could they be moving heavy equipment and come and do us this again?”

Guardian Media attempted to reach Minister Ratiram for a response, but no comment was received.