Farmers weep over crops as Udecott demolishes garden in Diego Martin

After four years of failed negotiations, the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago, yesterday, destroyed a garden occupied by three farmers at #2 Savannah, Diego Martin.

According to Udecott, the three occupiers were there illegally. But the farmers, who cried for help, told Guardian Media that they have been farming there for approximately 50 years.

“I am heartbroken and in sorrow to see our labour for so much years…what this Government is doing to us, it hurting my heart, my heart breaking but I putting it to my maker,” farmer Angela Thomas cried.

She said farmers deserve compensation for the work they have done in the last half-century. She lamented that all their cries for a reprieve fell on deaf ears.

In a press release, Udecott said the demolition was necessary as they prepared for the construction of Phase 2 of Diego Martin Sporting Complex which will complement Phase 1 and strategically provide educational, sporting and recreational facilities for the community, inclusive of a home-work centre; children’s play park; community playfield; two (2) multi-purpose hard courts; a swimming pool; a pavilion; public washrooms; and an electrical kiosk.

If uninterrupted, UdeCOTT said the community would be able to enjoy the use of the homework centre, playfield and hard courts by December 2025.

The corporation noted that its officials approached the farmers in 2020 and alternative parcels of land were found in Tucker Valley to facilitate relocations. The crops were also valued to provide compensation.

They said talks resumed in 2024 and one of the occupiers accepted the offer of a parcel of land and compensation for his crops. But the others requested exorbitant sums of over $1.1 million each.

But farmer Camalyn Salandy said they work hard to cultivate their crops, which were bearing when the demolition began. She accused Udecott of not caring.

“It’s heartbreaking, it’s heartbreaking because at the end of the day we have children to feed from this and this is where our livelihood come from,” Salandy explained.

She added that the land offered was in a deplorable condition and they just could not accept it.

“It have no running water facility there, no electricity and it is very out of our reach to get down there and the condition wasn’t met to our satisfaction,” she claimed.

Salandy added that they were not against the Government’s plan for the land but they deserve better treatment.

She also worried about the future of her 19-year-old son, who she said took up farming to stay away from the bad influences in the community.

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