GOB has frowned on agriculture in the Harmonyville Buffer Zone, but BGYEA activists are adamant and say they will plant corn this coming Saturday come hell or high water

Tensions have certainly been brewing between the local activist organization known as the Belize Grassroots Youth Empowerment Association (BGYEA) and the Government of Belize (GOB), specifically the Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture, since the Ministry issued a stop order 2 weeks ago on May 8 for the association to discontinue a corn cultivation project which is currently taking place on the periphery of the Harmonyville community at Mile 41 on the George Price Highway.

That command, however, has come under massive scrutiny from BGYEA’s representatives who claim that the 40-acre tract represents an investment of over $40,000 – a venture for which the proceeds are supposedly earmarked for further development of the Harmonyville community.

The already contentious relationship between the two entities has thus intensified and since this week, emotions are at an all-time high and the dispute has the potential of reaching greater proportions because GOB is holding its ground, while BGYEA is resolute on going ahead with their proposed corn cultivation endeavor, which is scheduled to take place this Saturday, May 24.

On Tuesday, we spoke to outspoken BGYEA president, Nigel Petillo, who maintained that the initiative would generate much needed financing for the infrastructure development of the area.

He said, “We don’t mean to seem disrespectful to the Government, but when they are putting blockages in the way [of] our development, it’s really frustrating and I apologize for that, but we have invested so much in this idea and since we are lacking financing to develop our community, we had been calling on our leaders to assist us, and now they make us feel like an enemy of the state.

“I was amused by Cabinet’s decision not to replace the bush in the Harmonyville Buffer Zone with corn because they can have that land whenever they want, but we came up with an idea to keep it maintained that way so that it can help us develop our community. We’re at a position now where it’s just a matter of having the seeds planted in the ground and watch the plants grow. We’re not troublemakers; we are just standing up for what we believe in – liberty, justice and equality. We are sorry if we seem problematic, but we need Government to come onboard. This Saturday, we are going out there to plant our seeds and GOB, we need your support.”

Last Friday, May 16, Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, Wilbert Vallejos, issued a release which succeeds the cease-and-desist order issued on May 8, in response to a letter sent by BGYEA to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture on May 9, in which Petillo sought permission from the Department of Lands and Surveys to continue the activities within the Buffer Zone.

That release from Vallejos announced that Cabinet has rejected the use of the buffer zone for agriculture, barring the “unauthorized” activities and adding that “the Ministry finds it interesting that it is the same BGYEA organization that subsequently proceeded to encroach in the said buffer without permission from the Department of Lands and Surveys,” implying that BGYEA, which had previously advocated for the removal of squatters who were unlawfully occupying the same area, later entered into an agreement with an investor to cultivate a corn crop and the irony, according to the commissioner, is that BGYEA is now encroaching on the buffer when the law states that buffer zones are Crown lands and must be preserved in their natural state.

The Commissioner’s release ended by saying that “the Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture welcomes further peaceful, constructive and timely dialogue with the Harmonyville Community; however, it must be in accord with the law as we work in support of and ensure the proper development of this area.”

Today, however, BGYEA president Nigel Petillo had a meeting with the Lands Commissioner and the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture, Sharon Ramclam, but when we spoke to Petillo at the end of that session, he described it as “unproductive.”

The Harmonyville development comprises approximately 1,300 acres of land – of which the buffer zone is approximately 29 acres that runs from Cotton Tree Village to the Beaver Dam Bridge and separates the Harmonyville development from the George Price Highway.

In 2010, Cabinet made a decision to process land documents for over 1,000 acres of the Harmonyville area, which were issued to various individuals and members of BGYEA for the purposes of residential/agricultural development.

Notwithstanding the Lands Commissioner’s conclusion that the buffer zone should remain in its natural state, BGYEA has said that it will proceed with the cultivation of crops on the outskirts of the village this Saturday, March 24.