Dear Editor,
The decision to clear farmlands aback Buxton/Friendship, and as far as Enmore to the east and Triumph/BV to the west for security reasons, with an offer of some compensation to affected farmers, should have caused the Ministry of Agriculture to be the vanguard of such an operation.
The Ministry of Agriculture should have in the first instance deployed some of its surveyors and crop valuators to the areas in order to:
(1) Identify the various holdings;
(2) List and quantify the various crops and buildings that will be destroyed in the process;
(3) Issue a copy of such a list to each land owner/farmer who must all be present during the count.
As a surveyor during the Boeraserie Project, I used to accompany Crop Valuators – Messrs SA Younge and CAN Persaud, ISM during crop valuations. Such an arrangement has been in practice on all Drainage and Irrigation Projects, wherever private farm lands were affected by such works.
It is therefore very short-sighted clearing the farm lands in advance of knowing ownership, and what crops will be destroyed. This only exposes the paucity of intellect that prevails in some government decisions. Why put the cart before the horse? The offer of compensation to affected farmers/land owners will be a very difficult task.
Yours faithfully,
(name and address supplied)
