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Profit policies violate farmers’ rights leading to conflict over water
El Nobareya farmers suffer from the contradicting and arbitrary policies of the Ministry of Agriculture against their rights. The farmers state in their complaints that there are 70 thousand feddans in their area most of them are divided into basins or beds with an area of 20 feddans distributed among 8 farmers with 2.5 feddans each that receive water through irrigation machines, each basin has an area of 5 to 7 feddans in it as public utilities and are not used for farming, but the government started selling these public utility lands regardless of its irrigation methods that violate the irrigation rights of farmers’ lands next to them. Some farmers state that these public utility lands reach an area of 30 thousand feddans, which are distributed among favors, tradesmen and influential people, which will lead to more conflict in these areas over irrigation water.
The LCHR has received dozens of farmers’ complaints from Al Imam Malek village – El Nobareya city – Behira calling for help from violating their right to safe farming.
The situation started when some farmers received a house and 2.5 feddans of land as compensation for their land returned to the original owner according to the land law no. 96 for the year 1992. The farmers faced a lot of problems and obstacles to receive these alternative lands that are far away from their homes and villages, and don’t have sewer systems, clean drinking water, healthcare, education, transportation or any other public services that guarantee them a decent life. Despite all this, the farmers were able to turn these desert lands into an agrarian lands that produce crops. The farmers are considered the owners of these lands and yet they didn’t receive ownership contracts from the Ministry of Agriculture although the farmers have to pay 15 thousand Pounds on installments of 750 Pounds a year. The farmers fear that they will be evicted out of these lands after their have reclaimed it because they don’t have any documents that state their ownership status.
One day, the farmers were surprised with an influential land dealer buying 7.5 feddans of the public utility lands surrounding their lands. And on the end of January 2008, this land dealer connected pipes to the water motor that irrigates the lands of these farmers that reach 20 feddans, which have decreased their share of irrigation water in a major way, which have negatively affected farmers’ plantations.
The farmers presented complaints to different authorities, but there was no response, which made them file police report no. 3 on 22/2/2008 in El Nobareya police station to prove this violation. The land dealer hired some thugs to assault some of the farmers disfiguring one of them and threatening them with imprisonment for what they did.
Also a police officer took about 5 policemen and arrested some of the farmers without any right to do so, and inside the police station, he land dealer continued his threatening to the farmers.
It is worth mentioning that the farmers presented a complaint to the electricity administration that has sent a committee to inspect the motor’s power and ability to irrigate the 7.5 feddans in addition to the existing 20 feddans, and the committee stated that the motor is strong enough to provide irrigation for more than 20 feddans.
In this context, the LCHR presents the complaints of these farmers to the Minister of Agriculture to stop the violations that El Nobareya farmers face and guarantee their right to safe farming, provide them with the land ownership contracts and dig new irrigation wells to guarantee their right to safe farming.
LCHR also calls all CSOs to unite in solidarity with these farmers to stop the violations against their rights to safety, freedom and decent living.
For more information, please contact the Center
For further information, please contact the Center