– over unpaid 2017 rent; former AG vows to seek adjournment, return
Government has moved against rice farmers of Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD), who have not been paying the increased land rental rates for the year 2017, with tenants being ordered to appear before the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court.
In a letter seen by Guyana Times, one of the farmers was ordered to make an appearance at the court, where she would appear before an Assessment Committee examining the matter. It was noted that an investigation would be carried out irrespective of whether they showed up or not.
In a statement on the matter, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall derided the fact that the farmers were summoned while he was out of the country. Nandlall reminded the procedure that must be followed when increasing rentals.
“Rice farmers at Hope Estate are being taken to court by this Government for failing to pay a unilateral imposition of increase in land rents by several hundred per cent. Rents for rice lands can only be lawfully increased with the mutual agreement of both the Landlord and the Tenant.
“Unilateral increase of rents for rice lands is in violation of the Rice Farmers (Security of Tenure Act). I wrote Hope Estate for these farmers last year explaining the legal position.
A year after and while I am out of the country, they have issued summons to these farmers to appear in court tomorrow.”
The case
Earlier this year, the Government had given notice of its intention to repossess land being leased by a number of these farmers at Hope Estate, ECD, for falling behind in their rent.
In a letter seen by this publication, farmers were instructed by Attorney and Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) Chairman Omadatt Chandan to “quit and deliver possession” of their land. But these requests resulted in these farmers and their legal representatives taking a stand.
In one case, Khemchan Sukhlall, a tenant of De Hoop, Mahaica, was ordered to hand over 16 acres of rice land situated at Nooten Zuil… all within one month of receiving the notice. The notice, dated January 16, 2018, was signed by Chandan who identified himself as an agent of Hope Estate Coconut Industries Ltd.
Back then, Nandlall, who had visited several of the farmers alongside fellow Member of Parliament Dharamkumar Seeraj, had issued a warning to the Agriculture Ministry via letter; stating that the farmers are protected by the Rice Farmers (Security of Tenure) Act. Section Five (1,d) stipulates that a notice to eviction cannot be issued outside what the Act permits.
Nandlall had informed the Ministry that he instructed the farmers to ignore the notice since the law gives them a regime of security of tenure. He had informed the Ministry that its letter is not only premature and precipitous, but it flies in the face of the Act.
“In short, rents chargeable for rice lands cannot be increased and a tenant of rice lands cannot be removed from possession except by the procedures outlined by the Act. We are not aware that any such procedures have been initiated or undertaken,” Nandlall stated.
Nandlall further explained to Guyana Times that these farmers have been in possession of their land for several years. These lands, he noted, provide the only source of livelihood for them and their families.
It is understood that farmers were paying $3000 per acre in 2015. But in the ensuing years, the farmers’ rents were increased to some $15,000 per acre. But with many contending that rice has fallen on hard times, they have already indicated that this increase will be hard to pay.
In 2016, the Government in a well touted deal had arranged to export rice to Mexico. The Agriculture Ministry subsequently disclosed that 17,000 tonnes of paddy were shipped to Mexico in a deal said to be worth some US$17 million (GY$3 billion), and 43,000 tonnes more will be shipped to the Central American country over the next few months.
However, the days of farmers getting premium rates for their paddy crops have since passed, following the end of the PetroCaribe (rice-for-oil) deal which was cancelled by Venezuela in 2015. Under that arrangement, farmers accrued some $9000 per bag of paddy, but this has been reduced to between $1800 and $2500, depending on location.
