British-owned company hands over Venezuelan ranches

A British-owned company has agreed to hand over nearly 138,000 acres of cattle-ranching property to the Venezuelan government, which claimed the assets under President Hugo Chavez’s land reform programme.

Under an agreement signed with the government yesterday, Agropecuaria Flora, owned by British Vestey Group, will cede two of its 10 ranches in the country to the state, officials said.

The government would pay Agroflora, as the company is known in Venezuela, the equivalent of £2.4m (€3.5m) in compensation for its 32,000-acre El Charcote ranch in central Cojedes state, said Omar Benitez, Agroflora’s lawyer.

The company will also turn over its 106,000-acre San Pablo Paeno ranch in Apure state, valued at £2.7m (€3.9m), to the government.

The company and the Venezuelan government had clashed over the state’s claims that some of its properties were underused and did not have valid ownership documents.

Agroflora’s president, Diana Dos Santos, denied the company had capitulated to government pressure, saying the agreement benefited both sides.

“Agroflora wins because it feels it is making a contribution” that will benefit the country and allow it to continue conducting business in Venezuela, she said.

Land Minister Elias Jaua hailed the agreement as an example of how a “friendly accord” could be reached between the state and the private sector amid land reform efforts.

The agreement leaves the company with about 638,000 acres of property in Venezuela.

Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, argues that land reform is fundamental to his socialist “revolution” and has repeatedly urged ranchers to co-operate.

The lands turned over by Agroflora will be used by co-operatives, by universities to conduct research, and for other projects, Jaua said.

Critics say the land reform violates property rights guaranteed in Venezuela’s constitution, and many fear the country is heading towards Cuban-style communism.