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Men caught red-handed destroying farmer’s rice crop
When Donald Joseph decided on remigration, and to invest in the rice industry, he had no idea that he would have encountered the challenges that now confront him.
Mr.Donald Joseph, of 59 Section D, Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, received written permission from the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agriculture Development Authority, MMA/ADA, the state agency responsible for the administration of state lands, to clear and develop a tract of state land on the left bank of the Abary River at his expense, and to occupy an area of 296 acres of the very tract of land strictly for agriculture purposes.
There were documents bearing the MMA seal.
According to the farmer, he invested approximately $30 million to clear the land of trees, and to build dams necessary for the cultivation of rice. He started cultivating the land in 2013, but in 2016, he was approached by an individual, Kumar Lachmansingh, also of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice.
He said that Lachmansingh laid claim to the said tract of land, and demanded payment for the period during which Mr. Joseph has been occupying the land.
However, Lachmansingh has so far failed to produce any form of documentation to support his claims of ownership. The matter was brought to the attention of the MMA/ADA, and, at a subsequent meeting Lachmansingh was officially advised that Mr. Joseph was authorised to occupy the tract of land in question, since according to records the said parcel of land is indeed state land.
With the MMA/ADA, the state agency responsible for the administration of state lands, having officially advised the parties involved as to the ownership of the land, and the rights to occupy such lands, Mr. Joseph thought that the issue was finally resolved.
Donald Joseph
However, that was not to be. He continues to suffer in various forms, and he believes that the motive is to frustrate him to such an extent that he would eventually vacate the land.
There have been attempts to set fire to his pick-up truck at his Bush Lot residence. The farmer claims that he has lost much of his feathered stocks in the Abary location through people deliberately poisoning his ducks.
Mr. Joseph has reported that where he was anticipating harvesting over 9,000 bags of paddy last crop, valued approximately twenty-seven million dollars, he lost the entire crop because people willfully flooded his field at a critical moment.
And, there has been no letting up. On Monday, January 8, 2018, the farmer was able to get a police party to arrive in good time to catch three men red-handed. The loss however is still great. Of the 296 acres cultivated, the men had already sprayed some 270 acres with the chemical, GLYPHOMAX, with the intent being to destroy the crop.
The police found the men with 24 one-litre bottles and a motor blower which was used to dispense the chemical.
Mr. Joseph estimates that he would have thereby lost around eight hundred bags of paddy.
The men were taken into custody, and latest information is that the police are awaiting advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution.
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