Farmer set to lose land after 40 years

After farming on a plot of land undisturbed for over 40 years, Rosemarie and her daughter Shameka are now crying foul as, on March 18, a tractor drove onto the property and began clearing off the crop.

They said they were told that the land is to be used as a playing field. According to Rosemarie, she lost plantain, banana coffee and sugar cane from the farm, which she inherited from her late husband. The tractor operator allegedly told her that he was operating on the instructions of the political representative for the area.

“We have invested millions of dollars into farming, and, not to mention, time. Sometimes we wake up at 5 o’clock so we can send stuff to the market,” said Rosemarie, who valued the damage at $500,000. “Farming is our livelihood … we have two children in the household, one of who is a special-needs child, and farming is what we do to pay our bills and get by.”

According to the 62-year-old Rosemarie, her late husband was farming on the property and then she joined him about 40 years ago.

“I don’t know how my husband got access to the property, but he did. It belongs to the National Water Commission (NWC). For the 40 years that I was using it, no one ever disturb me. I tried getting it to lease from NWC, but I never got back a reply,” she said.

She said that the first sign that all was not well was on Sunday, March 17. She said that she was on her way home from a farmers’ meeting when she was stopped by the member of parliament (MP), who told her that she had received a petition from the community, requesting that the plot be turned into a football field. She said the MP promised her that she would visit the property, but to date has not. Shameka is most disappointed that the demolition was done without a notice and just wants answers.

“The community needs a ball field, and we can understand… but what about our income, how do we survive? I would want us to be left alone, but if we cannot be left alone, something has to come in place that can help us, because farming is our source of livelihood and what take cares of us entirely,” said Anderson.

The women said they have tried to contact the MP without success. Efforts by THE WEEKEND STAR to get a response from both the MP from the NWC has also been unsuccessful.

“No one even spoke to us about giving us compensation, or even told us that you need to sell or take the produce off the property,” said Rosemarie. She said that had she and her daughter not formed a human barrier, she would have lost everything.

“I told them that it would not continue unless his superior or whoever gave him instructions to do it come and speak to us properly,” said Rosemarie. “We are still waiting for that to happen.”