{"id":199487,"date":"2026-11-02T16:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T19:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/?p=199487"},"modified":"2026-11-02T16:20:05","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T19:20:05","slug":"kisoensingh-suriname-misses-economic-opportunities-through-approach-to-mennonites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/kisoensingh-suriname-misses-economic-opportunities-through-approach-to-mennonites\/","title":{"rendered":"Kisoensingh: Suriname misses economic opportunities through approach to Mennonites"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The arrival of Mennonite farmers in Suriname offers opportunities to increase agricultural production and reduce dependence on foreign food imports. This is what social critic Radjen Kisoensingh said in an interview with ABC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

H<\/span>e strongly criticises the environmental organisations opposing the agricultural activities and questions the political motives behind the government’s actions. At the same time, he stresses that foreign investors must comply with Surinamese legislation.<\/p>\n

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According to Kisoensingh, Suriname’s agricultural sector has been facing a decline in workers and entrepreneurs for years. He points out that foreign groups, including Haitians in horticulture and Guyanese in the construction sector, have assumed an increasingly important economic role.<\/p>\n

Kisoensingh, who himself comes from a family of rice farmers, believes that the presence of Mennonites should be viewed from the same economic perspective. According to him, these communities have agricultural knowledge, experience and technology that enable large-scale production.<\/p>\n

Less dependent on food imports<\/h2>\n

An important argument put forward by Kisoensingh is that Suriname imports substantial quantities of food products and raw materials for animal feed. He mentions chicken meat, maize and soy, among other products.<\/p>\n

According to him, the Mennonites can contribute to the local production of these crops. This would not only save foreign currency, but also create new economic activities.<\/p>\n

He expects positive effects for transport companies, animal feed producers, agricultural processors and other businesses dependent on imported raw materials.<\/p>\n

Kisoensingh believes that Suriname is making insufficient use of these economic opportunities. He points out that agricultural production must be strengthened precisely in order to make the national food supply less vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Strong criticism of environmental organisations<\/h2>\n

During the interview, Kisoensingh sharply criticises environmental activists John Goedschalk and Erlan Sleur, who have spoken out against large-scale deforestation in connection with the settlement of Mennonites.<\/p>\n

He disputes various arguments that, according to him, are used against the agricultural activities. For example, he states that the use of fertilisers and pesticides is not confined to Mennonite farmers, but has also been part of existing mechanised agriculture in Suriname for decades.<\/p>\n

Kisoensingh also questions the independence of certain environmental organisations. According to him, international environmental organisations receive financial support from large companies that themselves contribute to environmental pollution. He suggests that such funding structures may influence the positions taken.<\/p>\n

The concerns about large-scale deforestation are not isolated. Environmental organisations have previously pointed to the possible degradation of the Surinamese rainforest, loss of biodiversity and the environmental consequences of large-scale agriculture.<\/p>\n

Goedschalk has previously indicated that agricultural development should be possible, but that suitable areas outside the primary rainforest should be used for this purpose.<\/p>\n

Kisoensingh speaks of a selective approach<\/h2>\n

Immigration policy is also addressed in the conversation. Kisoensingh believes that the government must act consistently when assessing foreign workers and investors.<\/p>\n

He refers to Brazilians, Cubans, Haitians and other foreign groups working in Suriname. According to him, the government must explain why strict action is taken against certain groups while other foreign communities are able to continue their economic activities.<\/p>\n

At the same time, he acknowledges that foreign nationals who do not possess the required residence and work permits must comply with the applicable legislation.<\/p>\n

His criticism is therefore mainly directed at the policy choices and the way in which the government handles the economic opportunities offered by the Mennonites.<\/p>\n

Criticism of President Simons<\/h2>\n

Kisoensingh is also critical of President Jennifer Simons. He suspects that the head of state wants to achieve a visible political result through the approach taken towards the Mennonites.<\/p>\n

According to him, the president has so far shown insufficient concrete results during her term in office. He suggests that the Mennonite issue is being seized upon to demonstrate decisiveness.<\/p>\n

This concerns Kisoensingh’s political assessment. His suspicions regarding the president’s motives have not been independently established.<\/p>\n

The government has previously provided a different justification for its actions. Simons has indicated that she wants to prevent large-scale deforestation of the primary rainforest for agricultural activities. According to her, there are also other areas where agriculture can be developed.<\/p>\n

Judge dismissed claim against deportation<\/h2>\n

Kisoensingh’s statements come against the backdrop of the legal battle over the stay of Mennonite families in Suriname.<\/p>\n

On October 29, 2026, the kantonrechter dismissed the claim by Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V. against the State. The company wanted to prevent the Mennonites involved from being deported from Suriname.<\/p>\n

The published judgment of the Hof van Justitie<\/a> shows that the judge weighed the company’s economic interest against the State’s authority to enforce immigration legislation.<\/p>\n

According to the judge, the foreign nationals involved did not have the required residence and work permits. The agreement with the government did not constitute an unconditional guarantee that these permits would be granted.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, October 31, reports subsequently emerged that more than 50 Mennonites had been deported from Suriname, while a second summary proceeding was scheduled for Monday, November 2. A separate official confirmation of the departure of all those involved was not available at that time. Key News previously reported on this development.<\/a><\/p>\n

Agricultural development versus environmental protection<\/h2>\n

The discussion on the Mennonites thus touches on a broader policy question: how can Suriname increase its agricultural production without this coming at the expense of the rainforest, the living environment of communities and compliance with legal requirements?<\/p>\n

Kisoensingh believes that the economic potential of the Mennonites should carry greater weight in decision-making. According to him, Suriname has opportunities to reduce import dependence and create new employment through large-scale agriculture.<\/p>\n

The government, on the other hand, emphasises that agricultural development must take place within the legal framework and that the primary rainforest must remain protected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Radjen Kisoensingh warns that Suriname is missing economic opportunities by obstructing Mennonite farmers, who can strengthen food production and reduce dependence on imports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":199305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_29234516172805655_1445375691985227":"","facebook_29234516172805655_1158244960706604":"","facebook_29234516172805655_108923581283702":"","facebook_29234516172805655_1309923202201307":"","facebook_29234516172805655_1093738170500407":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[{"account":"facebook_29234516172805655_1309923202201307","service":"facebook","timestamp":1793647218,"status":"success"}],"rop_publish_now_status":"done","wpai_generated_summary":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16342],"tags":[25623,25626,25622,25624,25625],"class_list":["post-199487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","tag-agriculture-suriname","tag-deportation-of-mennonites","tag-john-goedschalk","tag-mennonite-agriculture","tag-radjen-kisoensingh"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/media.keynews.sr\/2026\/11\/Screenshot-2026-11-01-215534.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keynews.sr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}