[www.inewsguyana.com] – Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are moving forward with its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which will see 10,000 acres of land being given to the twin island republic for farming.
Trinidad’s Food Production Minister, Devant Maharaj is currently visiting Guyana and told reporters during a press conference on Thursday, November 21 that within two weeks lands will be identified in Guyana for the MOU to be executed.
However, Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy could not say where exactly the lands will be taken from, when questioned by iNews. He noted that the technical teams will meet and assess some proposed areas soon.
Additionally, the Trinidad Minister explained that his country will now advertise for expression of interest, after which site visits would be arranged to Guyana, for those farmers who would wish to take up the opportunity.
The MOU, Minister Maharaj explained is geared towards reducing the food import bills and food inflation. He also noted that this will increase the food security for Trinidad and Tobago since there are no lands available in that country.
After the two countries had signed the MOU, the Famers Association in Trinidad had lashed out, stating that there are more than enough lands in their country to facilitate farmers.
When asked about this by iNews, Minister Maharaj explained that to date, he is yet to receive any official documentation from the Famers’ Association explaining their objection.
“I have not received any single letter, line or paragraph from any organization of any concrete objection to this MOU. There are no lands available in Trinidad,” the Food Production Minister said.
He further explained that the non – existence of lands in the twin island republic has reached the stage where there is a current list of 20,000 people awaiting housing.
