by Tricia Simon
Eat wat we grow an grow wat we eat!
Historically, as a former slave colony, the primary source of Grenada’s income stemmed from farming agricultural crops such as cocoa, nutmeg, sugarcane, coconut, spices, fruits, and vegetables. Our collective ancestors slaved in the fields which generated immense amounts of wealth – so we no have money in agriculture.
More recently the trend was to depend on income from tourism-related activities. With this divergence, we saw (a) a sharp decrease in the agricultural output of Grenada; (b) a sharp increase in food importation; (c) an increase in food-related diseases such as obesity and correlating diabetes, hypertension; and (d) an increase in food insecurity. We need to remember that when the tourist come dey want to “eat local”, thus the need for a significant increase in our agricultural output. “Grenada, The Spice of the Caribbean, Named World’s First Culinary Capital” says it all. We are lauded for our foods and spices, so we need to plant much more.
During the initial stages of the lockdown, the issue of food insecurity arose whereby families and individuals were left scrambling for food. I received a telephone call from someone whom I had only met on one prior occasion; he requested food for “his children”. I obliged and provided a week’s worth of food supplies. Individuals in Grenada as well as the diaspora provided food baskets and the government also provided assistance to needy individuals.
Several countries including the US, Canada, and Grenada experienced local farmers destroying crops in the field due to a broken supply chain and being caught off-guard with the initial Covid-19 lockdown. BBC’s Jessica Lussenhop highlighted the issue of food insecurity in the article Coronavirus: Meat shortage leaves US farmers with ‘mind-blowing’ choice. Price stability is important in markets such as the dairy sector in Canada, thus in order to ensure the stable price of milk, farmers dumped milk as reported in the CBC article by Stu Mills, Dairy farmers dumping milk as demand drops. Fishermen saw reduced income as we in Grenada were eating like royalty: Grade 1 tuna for $5.50 per pound. This was one of several factors which led to the current increase in the cost of basic food items.
This brings me to the article, Attorney General: Some individuals misusing Possessory Title Act wherein the title of the article speaks for itself. So, landowners, local and foreign-based are up in arms about the alleged unscrupulous manner in which their land is taken from them. Now one has to ask the question:what is the co-relation between the Possessory Titles Act and food security in Grenada? Let us look at the following facts about Grenada:
- A significant portion of our food is imported
- Food is relatively expensive in Grenada compared to other Caribbean islands
- There has been a sharp decrease in the number of individuals farming in Grenada over the more recent period
- The majority of farmers are smallholders
- A significant portion of the land in Grenada is owned by individuals whether residing in Grenada or abroad
- A significant portion of the land in Grenada is non-productive (idle) land, yet can be used for agricultural purpose
Now due to Covid-19 and the decline in tourism into Grenada, many landowners are turning to the land to expand and establish root and staple crops such as vegetables, roots and tubers. The reality is that some of the children of the former estate owners reside abroad and the land is unproductive. They are still paying property tax but the land is unused. Question: how can these lands become productive? One way would be through legislative reform of the Possessory Titles Act.
First, the act needs to be strengthened to protect property owners who would then be incentivised and know they are protected to put their lands into productive use to benefit the individuals residing in Grenada, abroad, and themselves. First, go digital. The land registry needs to put all of the old books in the Grenada National Museum as relics from the past. In the Province of Ontario real estate lawyers and other individuals now use the Land Registry to conduct searches on properties. This means that individuals residing outside in the diaspora would be able to check the state of their affairs and see if sum tief doh tief dey lan while dey still paying tax for it. Would there be an increased cost to do so? Yes, and this would be passed on to the individuals searching, as it is anticipated that more individuals would conduct searches resulting in additional revenue for the state. This land registry would enable individuals who own land and anyone to check to see whether there is any application in relation to their land. All man jack go be searching – allu doh crash duh site nah! ,
Second, it would appear as though any unscrupulous individual could swear ah affidavit and simply say dey been on the land for so and so time and jus so dey get ah piece ah lan. Sum people signing affidavit an dey doh even know wat dey really signing, dey go by sum lawyer and dey doh really understand. Maybe dey need to go in-front ah duh court and have to be cross-examined on dey affidavit…ah wonder how much ah dem go show up and lie under oath? Plus the act under section 5 (1) (b) requires “one affidavit each of at least two individuals with knowledge of the applicant’s adverse possession of the piece or parcel of land.” Nah, dat doh good enough, let all the landowners surrounding the said piece of land swear an affidavit as well – to say dey know so and so been on the neighbour lan. People jus getting dey fren to swear all kinda ting. This would help to increase the actual and perceived credibility of the system especially the judicial system in relation to adverse possession. In Grenada the judicial system is still respected and individuals still believe they would receive proper redress from the court system, so let this continue by ensuring the process is effective, transparent and fair.
Third, wey duh due diligence in dat act? Ah mean duh background check to really see if sumbody been living dey or using dey? If yuh been dey living for the stipulated period of time utility bills should be required to show proof of address. To get water on ah piece ah property the process at the National Water and Sewage Authority (NAWASA) is guided by solid law and order. One needs to actually (a) own the land or (b) obtain permission from the actual owner and show your documents to prove it. Grenlec on the odder hand, all man jack cyan get current. If yuh have a cell fone, which address yuh using? Wey yuh children registered at school? If yuh wuking, wat address yuh give yuh boss? How come if yuh been farming dey for so long yuh doh paying duh government tax on all dem tings yuh been planting and selling? How come yuh doh registered as a farmer using dat address if yuh farming?
Fourth, how come if yuh “reside” in America for 20 years yuh cud still say yuh in “factual possession” ah duh land? Wey yuh voting, wey yuh living, wey yuh paying tax, wey yuh dey – yuh doh dey in Grenada for sure. Due diligence is also required in regards to the term “factual possession”. So if yuh leave yuh son on Mr Smith’s property in ah little board house yuh build who is in factual possession, yuh or yuh son? If yuh have ah man wuking it and plantin who in possession, yuh or duh man? Wey yuh son and duh gardener affidavit to say they were in factual possession of the land. But as a former slave colony, we need to look back to move forward, remember the slave owners used “overseers” to manage the land in their absence while they still had ownership and possession of that said land. If the individual is employed by the individual residing in America where is the employment contract? If the child is residing on the property, where is the permission for him/her to reside on the said property. But can one give permission to another individual to use somebody else lan? Ah whole cyan ah wums, oui.
Fifth, section 8(1) (a) and (b) requires that a copy of the application notice “to be served on all owners or occupiers of property adjoining the piece or parcel of land to which the application relates; or (b) to be posted in a conspicuous place on the piece or parcel of land if the owner or occupier of land adjoining the piece or parcel of land to which the notice relates is unknown or cannot be found.” The reality is that one should be required to do both as this offers an additional layer of due diligence. But if dey cyan find the owner, how dey go find duh neighbours who living in the diaspora? Duh neighbours go find duh owners fo sure. An ah sure e do ha no sign with notice going up. We need a third party like the government printery making the signs to post the notice and placing them at the said location for a fee. This way, we would ensure that is a level of accountability and transparency to ensure the steps are followed.
Individuals residing in the diaspora and even in Grenada also need to partake in developing Grenada by allowing the use of one of the most crucial aspects of development to be used – land. How? By allowing the use of their valuable resource. A “lease registry” can be set up where individuals who own unproductive land are able to lease their property so that it can be put to productive use for agricultural purposes. That lease legislation needs to have teeth, e cyan be a toothless tiger dat cyan bite. Individuals would know that land cannot be had under adverse possession. The landowner would have to pay taxes since the land would be productive, thus increasing the tax revenue for the state. All lands farmed and ensuing income under this regime would be taxed as it is regulated and monitored. And allu leh we do proper ting, no jappa ting nah. Landowners need to trust that the system would work, be transparent, credible and everyone would benefit. So, this would be an agricultural land bank where the land is leased to interested parties. This would need to be public so everybody and dey brodder cud see so there is transparency. Covid-19 has ushered in an era of being online and that technology should be utilised to benefit Grenada. This would simply mean that more land should be put to use for agricultural purposes and increased food security in Grenada.
Bob Marley sang about war, and we see it currently happening in Ukraine, considered as a breadbasket. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian-born head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) reminds us that the “War in Ukraine could lead to food riots in poor countries.” So, individuals need to be proactive and prepare. June coming with the rains and we need to plant we food; everybody needs to put down something. Ah tired say we not cows, we cyan eat grass. Dig up your lawn grass and plant food. Think about it, what is the purpose of a lawn, yuh doh use it, e jus dey like ah ornament. Let the gardener who coming to cut the grass 2 times a month, now come to weed the beds of vegetables. Yes, we would have a glut on the market but then we would go back to our historical roots and export agricultural produce. So is backyard and front yard gardener in duh place – and no fertiliser, let us go organic. The Grenada Organic Agricultural Movement (GOAM) would be proud when the whole island goes organic.
Tricia Simon is an Attorney-at-Law called to the bar in the State of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique and the Province of Ontario, Canada.
Another excellent article.
So many truths. We must start now to take matters of our food security to hand
Glad to see your use of local vernacular instead of pompous legal language for a change. You need to understand that not all land is arable / agricultural land.
Secondly a person can OWN and in be in control of land whether they actually live on the land or not. Ownership is not just parking yourself on someone else’s land and then laying claim to it. How much more corrupt and dishonest can you be??? You could ask for PERMISSION to use untilled land as community gardens understanding that the use is TEMPORARY., use does not equate Ownership. Ever. Rental of land is not a new concept. Not everyone has the skill, knowledge or inclination to garden or farm. Too many tiefs taking produce as we see with all the soursop crops being illegally taken.
Learning to garden and farm comes from shared skills when we are children. Adults can learn but the desire needs to be there.