Suriname - Agriculture
Historically the coastal area has been the setting of large-scale agricultural activities.
By the 1950s there were only a handful of plantations still in operation. At that time about 90% of agricultural produce came from small-scale enterprises managed by the Hindostani and Javanese former indentured laborers or their descendants.
The land tenure system of coastal Suriname was originally designed to promote and guarantee a high level of productivity in the agricultural sector. The main purpose of the agricultural enterprises established in the coastal area after 1650 by white settlers was to supply the European owners of Suriname with tropical agricultural products such as sugar, coffee, cacao and cotton, but also with exotic tropical hardwoods. Land was issued under the condition that it must be cultivated. It was noted that throughout the land tenure history of the coastal area the State reserved the right to reclaim allocated land not being cultivated by appealing to expropriation procedures.
In the 1950s, with support from Dutch development aid, mechanized rice farming was introduced. The Foundation for the Development of Mechanized Agriculture in Suriname was created. The Wageningen project was one of the first major initiatives in mechanized rice farming. A 5000 hectare farm was established and some 64 Dutch families immigrated to manage individual farms. The project was very successful and by 1975 large-scale agricultural undertakings dominated the sector in terms of production. By the early 1980s production in the rice sector peaked at 300000 tons of wet paddy.
In the 1960s production of bananas became increasingly significant. Two large plantations were established, one west of Paramaribo at Jarikaba, and one in Nickerie. Regular export to Europe took place with ships built especially for the transport of the fruit that would ripe while in transit. In the 1970s two palm oil plantations were established, on in Victoria, some 80 kilometers south of Paramaribo, and the other at Patamacca, some 40 kilometers south of Moengo. The palm oil factory was established at Victoria, and in addition to local consumption Suriname began to export palm oil.
In 1982 a major revision of land legislation took place. During the seminar in November of 1981 to pave the way for the introduction of the new land tenure laws, the leader of the Military Authority described what he considered to be the main shortcomings of the land management system prior to the military take-over in 1980 - corruption, political and personal favoritism. Under the current process of allocating land prominent persons get large lots, while poor people who need the land to survive get none.
Enforcing the obligation to develop the land is complicated by the fact that persons who received land cannot be found, as many left the country. Land originally issued for agricultural purposes was instead parceled out into smaller lots that were sold for the construction of housing. Adequate infrastructure was not provided in these housing schemes and as a result shoddy neighborhood formation took place.
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