Government
Crown Land Review gives Community Agriculture a Boost
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, December 26, 2022 – The government has agreed to turn over crown land to groups of small farmers as a matter of priority as the Turks and Caicos seeks to enhance food security on the islands amid rising grocery bills.
The new initiative was part of the recommendations listed in the Crown Land Recommendations signed off by the
“The crown land ordinance should be amended to include a new category of “priority’ For allocation of crown land for community agriculture Schemes or licenses invested in a community representative. To be used for the purpose of growing plants by the inhabitants of a particular locality and managed by a small local group.”
The consultants said that they “entirely supported” the recommendation had been proposed by a Middle Caicos resident who fielded the idea of a legal regime for community farms tended by enthusiasts who could teach others how to farm.
It was also recommended that the governor of the day consider waiving rent for these plots of land because of the social value that they added to the country.
The joint independent review of the management of Crown Land in the TCI was compiled following community consultation by R. Donahue Gardiner, former cabinet minister and attorney-at -aw and and Professor Simon Cooper PhD, an expert in Caribbean land law and registration systems.