There has been a surge in tension between the authorities and farmers utilizing the land at Burke’s Estate for several years.
The root cause of this conflict stems from the authorities’ desire to create additional housing projects, which require the land currently used by the farmers.
According to agriculture officials, the farmers were placed in the privately owned area by mistake, which has caused much frustration and anguish among the farmers who have relied on the land for their livelihoods.
The officials have acknowledged the mistake, but this has done little to alleviate the tension between the two parties, which continues to escalate with each passing day.
Owolabi Elabanjo, a Senior Extension Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, has recently revealed that the land ownership mistake occurred due to the failure of relevant parties to conduct a thorough land ownership check.
This statement was made in response to the recent land acquisition dilemma faced by a group of farmers who were told to vacate their land.
The farmers in question have been assured that they will be relocated to a new site where they can continue their farming activities.
However, Emmanuel Peters, the President of the Layer Farmers Association, has revealed that the 40+ farmers working on the land with crops and livestock have no intention of moving to a new site.
It has also been revealed that some farmers have been leasing the land for generations without any compensation packages.
Meanwhile, D’Angelo Christian, the managing director of House Antigua Ltd, which has owned the 100-acre site for 30 years, has talked with the farmers for two years, according to the Daily Observer.
He says that his housing project has been in the making for three decades.
Christian is sympathetic to the farmers’ plight and has offered some of them the opportunity to purchase the land they are occupying, along with his company’s help to build on it.
However, the government is working to relocate the farmers to a more suitable place as it is private land and there is a squatting issue.
Christian is keen to help his compatriots get a foothold on the property ladder, and his development will comprise as many as 300 houses priced from EC$160,000 to EC$200,000.
The homes can be customized to suit buyers’ budgets and designed using his in-house team of architects.
Before construction begins on the first 50 properties, concrete roads, underground utilities, sidewalks, and drains will all be completed.
Christian intends to create a sustainable place that can combat climate change and contribute to beautifying Antigua.
He hopes that the development will become a model for other sustainable housing projects in the region, and that it will help to ease the housing crisis in Antigua.
But when they say affordable housing the man and women working for little to nothing can’t but those houses.
If we keep importing food especially ground provisions, we will not going to afford it also. The government needs to build a four storage housing complex like what is done in other countries where we Caribbean’s nationals love to migrate to and live. We need to feed ourselves and we also need our agricultural lands. The population is growing rapidly and everyone will not be able to get a standard house with yard space like before. We have to start looks at building uprising housing projects.
Houses are nice, but what’s the point in living in a country without food or water? If the land is good for agriculture that must be taken into consideration. The relevant authorities need to map out the land available for different purposes and the number of people, and come up with a reasonable and sustainable plan. Perhaps the developer can develop somewhere else. More row houses or townhouses are needed in these developments to share land and resources more efficiently. Also, persons can’t afford to save a deposit to purchase or build a home if they are stuck paying these high out-of-control rental rates.
When will Antiguans who are living in Antigua get us off there behinds and stand up for there rights Antigua ay Barbuda be long to them no to Brown and his manless so call leaders all of them do not have balls to lead they are like little girls I would not say woman because a whole lot of women would do far better than all of them I would wish that the Women in Antigua and Barbuda would get up and lock up all of them