Newsday Editorial
May 2 2011 – newsday.co.tt
It is to be sincerely hoped that the Government will stand firm in the decision to put an end to the illegal occupation of State lands for whatever purpose.
This newspaper’s lead story yesterday gave another side, indeed food for thought, of the now highly publicised bulldozing of acres under food production in D’Abadie and other places which so incensed the public.
Continue reading Government must stand firm
By Raffique Shah
April 30, 2011
WHEN one sees the insensitivity—one might even say insanity—of persons who authorised and executed the destruction of food and root crops on three parcels of state land, one wonders what the hell is going on in this country. Successive governments, the incumbents included, have proclaimed their intent to make food production a priority. Yet, they have all committed agrarian atrocities, most times citing “progress” as an excuse. The price of progress is indeed very high.
Continue reading Agrarian Atrocity
Newsday Editorial
April 28 2011 – newsday.co.tt
Authorities may have followed the letter of the law in the eviction of squatters illegally farming State lands at Mausica Road, D’Abadie, but officials might have used a defter touch.
We agree that the D’Abadie farmers were legally obliged to vacate the lands, but this problem stretched back to 2008. Discussions could have been held with squatting farmers in order to establish a date which facilitated the collection of crops and which did not delay in manner untoward the housing project in whose way the farmers stand.
Continue reading Tragic waste
By Burton Sankeralli
April 26, 2011
Pineapple… sweet potato… water melon… pak choi… lettuce… topi tambo… bodi… pumpkin… corn…
On April 25th, 2011, this Day of Destruction, the so-called Peoples’ Partnership government destroyed 175 acres of food crops in two agricultural sites. There are certain actions that come to define a regime, certain events when such a regime loses its fundamental credibility. Such an event may involve bloodshed or it may, on the surface, be largely symbolic or it can involve the killing of crops.
Continue reading Day of Destruction
‘Stop the many housing projects’
By Adrian Boodan
June 04, 2010 – guardian.co.tt
Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath wants all lands that were under the control of Caroni (1975) Ltd to be returned to his ministry. Bharath was speaking with the media, during a visit to farmers in Cunupia yesterday. Bharath said when the PNM administration shut down state-owned sugar producer, the lands were handed to the Ministry of Finance for disposal. He said he wanted to see the stopping of all housing developments started by the former government on these lands.
Continue reading Bharath: Use Caroni lands to grow food