BELIZE: Sohan Singh Randhawa of Watsonville had the Opportunity to visit with Her Highness Queen Elizabeth II of England Feb.23 at a state reception of Parliament House in Belize.
Randhawa who works for Paul’s Trucking Company in Watsonville was in Belize visiting his family’s rice farm. He talked with Queen Elizabeth above about his farm his home in California and birthplace in India.
The Queen was in Belize with her husband Prince Philip on a three-day state visit.
Big Falls has been resurrected said members of the local chamber of Comers after Tut brothers made an investment in the area.
We came we saw an abundance of land good dirt lots of water and Sunshine What close docs a farmer want? We bought!
This is how Paul Singh Tut a Sikh from Punjab India described his families’ acquisition of an over Brown 4500 acres rice farm in the Big Falls area of the Belize District.
The Singh-Tut family had to trump-up 55 1/2 million for the Big Falls farm but they needed more than tractors and combine to cut through tightly wrapped receivership conditions and red tape.
God win Hulse a lean-built German-trained Belizean who was the farms receiver now teams up with one of the Singh-Tut brothers Andy in the day today running of the farm. Hulse who does not suffer fools gladly and who has a sharp tongue said we do not need some young graduate from Texas A‘& M who has not even seen a grain of rice to tell us how to grow rice. We are trying to grow rice in Belize using a culture adaptable to the local climate. It requires its
own technology. Hulse added. Since the farm was sold in July of last year the government has granted Singh-Tut (brothers) Big Falls Farm Lid. (the name of the company) a development concession They have reactivated rice cultivation (initially 600 acres}and improving a cattle herd of 1700 heads.
The first crop of rice was harvested this month October with a yield of 4000 pounds per acre on average but they are expecting yields to increase says a bearded and portly Andy.
He added that we plan to eventually cultivate most of the farm in Nice depending on the International market.
The Singh-Tut brothers are no Strangers to farming or to rice farming. They grew rice in India where land is scarce says Paul Because of this. we had to do it on a small’ scale..
The family also owns a 6000 acres farm in Fresno California where they produce a wide variety of fruits including grapes prunes apples and apricots. They also own & tomato cannery. In addition to these they are the owners of a trucking company.
Courtesy of: Amandala Belize
Article extracted from this publication >> April 1, 1994
