Opinion / Columnist
Land audit necessary to all country's provinces
08 Jan 2015 at 13:24hrs | Views
The decision by the Mashonaland East Zanu-PF Provisional leadership to make a land audit in its province is of paramount importance and should be appreciated. However, I feel the same land audit should also be conducted in all provinces of the country.
After the land reform programme some farms were left abandoned such that the farming land remained idle for a long time without any activities taking place. Other reasons being that the owner of the farm maybe deceased hence no-one was left in charge of that farm. Such farms need to be allocated to other people who are dedicated and willing to work.
It is imperative for government to limit the size of farming land that it allocates to farmers. Some farmers are underutilizing land whilst on the other hand some farmers are failing to access farming land. Some farmers are owners of double farming land and are failing to utilize the whole agricultural land that they own. These farmers should either be left with only a single farm that they can afford to manage or improve on their farming practices and make full utilization of the available land.
Good farming practices that have positive results, reduces poverty and enhances food security, therefore incapacitated farmers should be encouraged to meet set farming obligations such that their farms will not be opted to competent farmers.
Agriculture is the backbone of our country's economy. One of the plans of Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-ASSET) to see Zimbabwe regaining its lost status as the bread basket of Africa
Auditing farming land will help guide investment in the agricultural sector and inform decision-making to ensure the best use of that land. If all land is fully utilized, importing maize and other crops from neighbouring countries will be thing of the past.
To support that idea, the government recently accepted a strategy that allows joint farming ventures between black farmers and white farmers or farming partnerships among black farmers. Joint farming ventures will help to strengthen those farmers who were facing farming challenges, either through sharing of farming ideas or financial resources.
Agricultural land audit is also necessary because it determine whether the land owners are effectively preserving their given agricultural land.
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Chido Chikuni can be contacted at chidochikuni@gmail.com
After the land reform programme some farms were left abandoned such that the farming land remained idle for a long time without any activities taking place. Other reasons being that the owner of the farm maybe deceased hence no-one was left in charge of that farm. Such farms need to be allocated to other people who are dedicated and willing to work.
It is imperative for government to limit the size of farming land that it allocates to farmers. Some farmers are underutilizing land whilst on the other hand some farmers are failing to access farming land. Some farmers are owners of double farming land and are failing to utilize the whole agricultural land that they own. These farmers should either be left with only a single farm that they can afford to manage or improve on their farming practices and make full utilization of the available land.
Good farming practices that have positive results, reduces poverty and enhances food security, therefore incapacitated farmers should be encouraged to meet set farming obligations such that their farms will not be opted to competent farmers.
Auditing farming land will help guide investment in the agricultural sector and inform decision-making to ensure the best use of that land. If all land is fully utilized, importing maize and other crops from neighbouring countries will be thing of the past.
To support that idea, the government recently accepted a strategy that allows joint farming ventures between black farmers and white farmers or farming partnerships among black farmers. Joint farming ventures will help to strengthen those farmers who were facing farming challenges, either through sharing of farming ideas or financial resources.
Agricultural land audit is also necessary because it determine whether the land owners are effectively preserving their given agricultural land.
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Chido Chikuni can be contacted at chidochikuni@gmail.com
Source - Chido Chikuni
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