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Disgruntled farmers in Bernard Lodge, St Catherine, were quick to take the opportunity to appeal directly to Prime Minister Andrew Holness for a review of the amounts they will be paid for compensation and to fast-track the payments to them, after they were relocated to facilitate the multi-billion-dollar development being undertaken by the Government.
Holness was on a tour of various projects in Bernard Lodge last Friday when he stopped for a brief discussion with the farmers.
The prime minister was bombarded with complaints from the farmers and spent a bit longer than he had planned speaking with them.
The farmers could not understand why they have not yet received money promised as part of the relocation deal.
They also charged that the amounts they were offered were grossly inadequate, taking inflation in consideration, and that the irrigation systems are inadequate as their crops are dying from heat.Trevor Lee, a registered livestock farmer, who dabbles in other areas of farming, complained to that prime minister about the lack of water.
"Wi supposed to get water from the truck twice a week. The things dem is down here burning up in the sun. We are very dissatisfied down here. We were promised pay for relocating and up to now we have not been paid," said Lee.
He told Holness that before relocation he had 52 pigs and 600 layer chickens, but now he has only a few pigs.
"Presently, I have no layer chicken because I was promised by SCJ [Sugar Company of Jamaica] Holding that we must move and then we will be compensated. From March they told us we would get paid on the fourth of June and they put it off till this Friday and still, nothing.
"I have pigs, but I don't have chickens any more because I had to pull down the coup. Government motto is, 'Make no farmer worse', but I am 100 times worse than I used to be," declared Lee.Another of the farmers told Holness that he, too, has received no compensation and complained about the quality of the land they were relocated to.
"They gave us a piece of land down so, and dat look like dem a discourage farmers. Di money wah dem offer wi fi compensation can't even fence up down yah so," said the farmer who did not give his nameA seemingly concerned Holness beckoned to Managing Director of the SCJ Holdings Joseph Shoucair to respond to the farmer.
"I am aware, Sir, but we don't get the valuations from RADA [Rural Agricultural Development Authority] yet. RADA has come and valued all your trees and once the valuation comes, the prime minister has given us the money to pay all of the farmers," said Shoucair.
Holness chimed in saying that there is a view that the Government doesn't work in the interest of the people, and encouraged the farmers to help with changing that view.
"I am aware of the challenges... I am trying to introduce a kind of new development to Jamaica where there is equity and fairness. In that new development, you have had to be relocated, and the direction given is that you should not be any worse off. In terms of compensation for fruit trees and other crops which would have been destroyed in the relocation process, I know that a valuation was done.
"We have not solved the water problem just yet. It's not a case where I can just come and turn on water. We have to move water from irrigation canals, then put them in pipes and pressurise them," said Holness.But, Lee later told the Observer that the farmers do not trust the water from the canals.
"I don't think canal water is suitable for producing vegetables because anything can come down in the canal. We had proper irrigation before," said Lee.
Holness has repeatedly argued that housing and agriculture are being equally prioritised under the Greater Bernard Lodge Development.
Following the tour last Friday, Holness reiterated that while 15,000-16,000 housing solutions were programmed for construction, approximately 1,300 acres of land would be reserved for small- and medium-sized farmers, with the development also incorporating light industrial and agricultural activities.During the tour, the prime minister visited Jamagro Tech Farms Limited, one of the industrial-agricultural entities being built on some 400 acres of land.
He described the entity's operations, which will incorporate greenhouses and grow houses, as "incredible" and a "fantastic integration of technology into agriculture".
According to Holness, the Greater Bernard Lodge development plan aims to create a sustainable, vibrant, and resilient community that addresses challenges associated with affordable housing, transportation, access to jobs and services.
Just over a year after Cabinet initially approved the Greater Bernard Lodge Development Master Plan in March 2018, Holness instructed that the document be reviewed, based on public concerns. The revised plan was subsequently approved by Cabinet in January 2020