Over 400 EBD residents receive land leases after decades of occupancy

– lease holders offered land to cultivate peppers as Govt forges ahead with modern farming initiatives

Some 435 residents from Base Road Timehri, Swan Turn, Kuru Kururu, and Banakari (Long Creek) on Monday received land leases for lands that they have been occupying for decades.
The leases were handed over at Timehri, East Bank Demerara by President Dr Irfaan Ali and other government officials.
During the event, the President emphasised the government’s commitment to balanced urban development, modern farming initiatives, and economic empowerment amidst the complexities of building the new Silica City highway infrastructure.
He highlighted plans for modern farming plots, shade housing, and income plans aimed at ensuring sustainable livelihoods and addressing climate change challenges.
He noted the special urban planning required for the new highway and Silica City, which will include new settlements and major tourism initiatives.
The head of state mentioned that this new highway requires a special urban planning environment which will be beneficial for farmers.

“We have a new city coming on the highway, Silica City, that requires a special urban planning environment. We are thinking about new settlements, major tourism initiatives, and developing farm steps.”
According to the Head of State, farmers will be considered in this planning. On this note, he stated that farmers from the highway whose focus is on planting hot peppers can be ready to eliminate the need to travel to sell their produce as the government will be purchasing the peppers from them through a production facility.
“So, if we have 500 persons and 500 persons are concentrating on hot pepper, we will put a production facility that will take off all the hot pepper from you, you don’t have to travel to the market to sell it we’ll fix the price, we’ll take off the hot pepper from you and the last time we calculated this.”
Further, he stated that out of the new land owner, those who are interested in modern farming would receive an eighth of an acre.

“If we have 500 persons from the highway who want to do farming in a modern way, we will allocate an eighth of an acre for each, where they can build their farm steps. The government will help establish shade houses to support good production,” he stated, emphasising that this would provide a decent living.
Ali also mentioned plans for income generation, for farmers.
“We want to give you an income plan if you want to farm out here. We will help you establish shade houses for food production. You can get a decent living out of your farm cell,” he explained, adding that even with limited land, residents could maintain high-value crops such as peppers.
The president also stated that farmers who are granted shade houses will be allowed to take care of them and develop a production area.
He projected that a person with a one-acre farm land could earn over $1.2 million annually.
“We want to develop a farm setup force. Not everyone wants a ten-acre farm, but we can help you by giving you the means to achieve significant annual production,” Ali asserted.

Ali emphasised the government’s scientific approach to this development, incorporating infrastructure to support farming and guard against climate change.
“We are doing this scientifically, putting in infrastructure to support you, and building farm steps in a modern way,” he noted.
He underscored the complexity of planning this new area, balancing residential, commercial, tourism, agriculture, and watershed considerations.
“There are very few planning areas globally where planners must strike such a balance. This complexity is what we face, and we are confronting it in a people-centered way to improve your prospects of earning and decent living,” Ali stated.
The government aims to provide residents not just access to land but also the opportunity to own it, he reiterated.