Agriculture Ministry gives land leases to 12 farmers in Wallerfield

On Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture Clarence Rambharat presented standard agricultural leases to 12 farmers with land in Wallerfield.

A press release from the Agriculture Ministry said the distribution ceremony was held at its head office in Chaguanas.

The release noted that during the ceremony, Rambharat said the 30-year leases were intended to help those farmers make more long-term investments in the land.

The farmers were previously unable to do so given that they were not a legal party to the land tenancy arrangement contracted with the State.

The ministry said the leases would also give farmers more legitimacy which would give them easier access to help from financial institutions and state entities.

It continued, “On the issue of agricultural state lands, Minister Rambharat noted that there has been an increasing number of requests for the sub-division of these parcels, a measure which he was reluctant to comply with, except for “extreme circumstances."

“The minister was adamant in the preservation of a longstanding principle that state land for agricultural purposes, not be subdivided.”

The ministry warned that it continued to be on high alert when it came to fraud and other illegal activities involving state lands.

It is dissuading people from breaking down state-land parcels into smaller sizes especially to build houses.