East Westmoreland MP wants new land policy

THE devastating effects of ganja cultivation in Eastern Westmoreland on legitimate farming activities there have forced the member of parliament to call for a revolutionary land policy in his constituency.

Luther Buchanan wants farmers in his constituency to have greater access to arable land.

He said this would keep many persons away from marijuana cultivation and would boost the country's food supply.

"I will use this opportunity to highlight my request for the Government to authorise the establishment of farm plots on the hundreds of unoccupied acres of land in the constituency, as inadequate farmlands is a major contributor to the use of small parcels of land for illegal crop production for maximum monetary gains," Buchanan told The Gleaner.

Westmoreland is a leading ganja-producing parish, with many hillsides in the eastern section of the parish home to the cultivation of the weed.

Greater opportunity

Buchanan said many of these farmers plant the illegal substance because it represents an oppor-tunity for them to put food on their tables. He also said it is this desire to care for themselves and their families that leads many women and men to work as pickers on ganja farms.

According to Buchanan, if many are given the opportunity to occupy better plots of land, they would turn away from ganja cultivation.

"Of paramount importance in the struggle against crime and illegal activities is a balance in terms of reconstruction resources and sustainable alternatives. We see, out of the Labour Day activities in west Kingston, significant sums presently being spent on reconstruction and rehabilitation. As such, I am calling on the Government to do the same in Eastern Westmoreland, as over the past weeks an extensive ganja eradication programme was carried out destroying other ground provisions that are not illegal," Buchanan said.

He argued that the Government was the owner of an abundance of lands in the parish and he challenged the State to make some of these available to farmers for long-term lease.

"I have no doubt that it would lead to an increase in agriculture production. It would also curb unemployment and put a brake on illegal activities," Buchanan said.

He told The Gleaner that the country's economy would benefit from the results of some of the best Irish potato cultivation, as well as dasheen, pepper and Bogle's Globe pumpkin which, he says, grow well in his constituency.

Ganja reduction

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds says Buchanan's suggestion that greater access to lands may result in a reduction of ganja cultivation might be premature.

"I think it would require a more fulsome study to look at exactly who are the persons involved in ganja and why they are involved. You could very well find that a lot of the persons involved have access to and own a lot of lands," Hinds told The Gleaner.

He added: "I know that other countries have tried crop sub-stitution and it has not worked. Access to farmlands may be one factor but there are other factors, such as greed and laziness ... people wanting a lot of money at one time."