Farmers Vs Valley of Peace Farms Ltd. in Land Dispute
Back in March we told you about the land dispute between the Valley of Peace Farms Limited and the Valley of Peace Farmers Association. The Association is made up of over fifty farmers from the village who plant a number of crops, and as we’ve showed you they are the largest producer of cabbage for the country. But the farm lands they cultivate are the title property of Valley of Peace Farms which is owned by a multi-million dollar pork producer in the USA. And since the company has been developing the land, they are getting closer to the areas being used by the farmers – and that has created tension there in Valley of Peace. The company says that they recognize that the matter must be settled but that they are accommodating to the farmers with the expectation that they will have to give up some of the land. But until those things are made official and legally – they have been trying to negotiate which plots of land are used so as to not create conflict and so that they can both achieve what they set out to do. The Valley of Peace Farms Limited is saying, however, that there are some farmers who are not abiding by the agreement and are farming outside of the blocks of land they had agreed to cultivate and that is creating problems for the land owner. The matter has escalated in recent weeks with threats and the company says they just want a solution. Today they invited the press, the chairman of the village and the farmers association, as well as the lands department and ministry of agriculture. Notably, the lands department didn’t attend despite being at the middle of this land dispute. It was a peaceful meeting – and by late this evening – the two parties were able to reach an agreement. Here’s the story.
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
The Valley of Peace Farms and the Valley of Peace Farmers Association have been at odds with each other over the use of some plots of land in Valley of Peace. Land documents presented today for one plot of land number 744 show that the company has a title in 2012 and a farmer also has a lease since 2002 for which he says he has been paying taxes even after it was sold off. And so today, Chairman Juan Arias says this issue goes back to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Juan Arias
Juan Arias, Chairman, Valley of Peace
“We started to negotiate this issue in 2013 when I started in the village council because I am serving since that time. And since that time, we haven’t gotten any response from the government. We can’t just say it is because of COVID-19 they are not responding. No, they are not willing to help us solve this problem. Natural Resources set us in this problem because in 2012 the people from the village received a lease from the lands and they pay the money to survey the land and after they surveyed they received a lease. But after they get their lease in 2016, the company receives titles for the same lands. Actually, what they did is that with the money that the people paid they surveyed the land and then they sell it already surveyed to the company which is not fair.”
One area under dispute is in the Young Gyal Mcrae. The Valley of Peace Farms Limited has title for these lands but for years the Farmers have been cultivating these lands, some claim that they have done so with lease holder documents, before Valley of Peace Farms Limited purchased the lands. So, in recent years, they have been working on a tenant farmers system – where blocks of land are allowed for use until the matter is officially settled. But, Valley of Peace Farms says that at least four farmers are farming outside of the plots In March they agreed to limit farming to a little over twenty-acres in one area – but the farmers have gone back on that agreement.
Gilbert Canton Jr.
Gilbert Canton Jr., General Manager, Valley of Peace Farms Limited
“These areas here 1412 and 1413, here is the red outline – the areas where the farmers were farming in March 2020 and the orange is the area where they are now claiming. So, they went from farming twenty one point seven acres mapped with GPS to claiming seventy-three acres. Now the area they sprayed is about somewhere between twenty and thirty acres but the seventy three acres is the entire block that we would have to give up. Basically, that is what they are claiming based on these outlines here and then what they sprayed these past couple weeks, so it is this orange area. They had expanded out from the area which, in my book, in March we said you stay where you are and we continue on. Everything was fine. Even within this area here they have cleared some more but really it is when they came outside. We have some lines marked here and they sprayed out here. So, I said, guys, well I don’t know what you are going to do next.”
While Canton maintains that the owners of the land are willing to accommodate the farmers and work with them – the problem continues to escalate. Like in this case, where farmers have gone over the demarcated plots of land and this has become a problem. Farmers are said to have become aggressive with the company – but the company has plans for these plots.
Gilbert Canton Jr.
“The real issue is that we have tried to mark this area before and say guys this is your area. You stay here and I stay here and that is good. And whenever we go and mark, we get threatened. We have machetes raised. My bulldozer operators are chased off. My tractor operators are chased off these fields. And we are not touching their farms. We are going around and trying to mark so that we can contain and say that this is your area and this is my area. What is going to happen here with what has been sprayed is I am planning to plant that sugarcane in the next two months and they are planning to plant it to something too. So, when they go to plant and their crop comes up and I go and plow that crop because I am scheduled to plant sugar cane, we are going to have a situation which is really gonna upset some people. And that has to be avoided. So, that is the reason for stopping them from coming over here. The minute they plant that is gonna cause some problem because I am going to plow that up. I do not want my guys operating plows to be threatened with machetes, guns, fire, whatever they are going to be threatened with. That cannot happen.”
The Chairman of the Valley of Peace Farmers Association was at today’s meeting. He says that he spoke with the four farmers and they are willing to relocate to another plot of land on the farm. It remains to be seen if they will lose any acreage going forward – but those details will be ironed out during negotiations.
Ever Blandon
Ever Blandon, Chairman, Valley of Peace Farmers Association
“I have a proposal which I speak with them, yesterday we had a meeting and what we want is that if they accept – because this should be the Ministry of Natural Resources fixing this issue because they caused this issue. So, we have identified a plot of land which is in their name and so they can give access to those guys. We reached an agreement that they will not continue to plant there and just harvest what they have planted now. And meanwhile they can pass to the next plot that we are planning if they accept our proposal.”
Gilbert Canton Jr.
“Now these guys are willing to relocate into an area and we need to discuss which area and that solves this issue and we don’t have this access issue anymore and we don’t have anything else going on like that. So, that would help a lot.”
Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
The press was informed of the agreement this evening where Canton says that the farmers have agreed to relocate and moving forward the company and the association’s chairman will attempt to negotiate terms for the relocation. Canton says that the company will not deny the farmers access to their farm and will consider assisting with private road access for harvests.
