A Suriname-based agricultural development project has been thrown into transparency controversy after Braganza Marketing Group, a key project partner, confirmed that binding financial agreements exist with Mennonite cooperative entities but declined to release details of those obligations. This leaves unresolved questions over how the widely reported $150-per-hectare figure cited by Mennonite representatives fits into the project’s overall financial structure.
Local media outlet Starnieuws directly questioned Braganza’s director Lionel Blokland on the $150-per-hectare claim, asking whether the company – or any of its affiliated entities, directors, shareholders, or intermediaries – receives that sum, or any per-hectare payment, from Mennonite project partners.
Blokland responded that Braganza does not sell land in connection with the three large-scale agricultural projects that the company has signed framework agreements for with Suriname’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (LVV). However, he did explicitly confirm that the company has entered into formal agreements over investments and mutual financial obligations with the Mennonite limited liability corporations (nv’s) participating in the projects. When pressed for specifics on the nature of these obligations and the total monetary amounts involved, Blokland stated that the company would not release any further details.
The $150-per-hectare figure entered public discourse after Belizean Mennonite representative Peter Petersen mentioned the per-hectare payment during a recent parliamentary site visit to the project area. Braganza had previously suggested the figure might refer to an internal financial contribution arranged among Mennonite families themselves. In his latest comments, Blokland reiterated that Braganza plays no role in these internal Mennonite financial arrangements, saying that such agreements are strictly an internal matter for the Mennonite nv’s and their communities. “As Braganza, we stand completely outside of these internal arrangements,” Blokland stated.
At the same time, Blokland acknowledged that Braganza does maintain oversight involvement in project delivery through its chairmanship of the boards of commissioners of the participating Mennonite nv’s, meaning the company retains a direct hand in matters affecting the successful execution of the agricultural projects.
The confirmation of binding financial agreements between Braganza and the Mennonite entities confirms that some formal financial arrangement exists, but its exact terms – including whether per-hectare payments are part of the broader structure – remain unconfirmed. Braganza has justified its refusal to disclose details by citing the confidential nature of the framework agreements it signed. The company did note that all framework agreements and other cooperation-related documents have been submitted to LVV, and according to Blokland, Braganza has no objection if the ministry chooses to make the documents publicly available.