In a decisive move to boost agricultural productivity, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that the government will reclaim idle farmland if owners fail to commence cultivation within 30 days. Addressing the issue on the Browne and Browne Show, the Prime Minister emphasized that numerous individuals are holding valuable agricultural plots without utilizing them, thereby hindering national food security. “They have 30 days, failing which the lands will be reallocated to serious farmers,” Browne declared. He criticized those who keep government-owned farmland inactive, stating, “They see all this land on the bush, not recognizing they’re already assigned to different people who are just holding on to them. They’re literally holding the land and not putting it on the bush… juicing. So that will come to an end.” Browne assured that the policy applies universally, irrespective of political affiliation, citing opposition MP Algernon “Serpent” Watts as an example of a non-productive farmer. “Even people like Serpent and so on, if Serpent doesn’t start a farm again, of course we’re going to take them back. This has nothing to do with any form of political victimization,” he clarified. The Prime Minister revealed that the government has identified multiple cases of abandoned agricultural leases, including one individual who owns 26 acres but has sold all his agricultural equipment. “We know he’s no longer in that space. But just holding on to the land. Just holding on to the land,” Browne noted. He stressed that the reassignment program aims to ensure state land is used for food production and national food security, adding that “many others… are just holding government’s land and not producing.” While Browne did not specify when repossessions would begin, he affirmed that enforcement would follow once the 30-day deadline expires.
PM Says Policy On Idle Farm Land Applies to ‘Everyone’ Not Just Serpent
