The government will soon issue withdrawal letters to anyone found not to be using farms allocated under the land reform programme, a senior government official said.
The Land Commission submitted its review report to President Mnangagwa last November, and its recommendations are now set to be implemented.
As part of efforts to ensure that all arable land is fully productive, the Second Republic commissioned an audit, the results of which have not yet been published.
Speaking during a question and answer session in Parliament last week, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi confirmed that farmers who were not productive would be issued withdrawal letters.
Minister Ziyambi was responding to a question from Marondera East legislator Cde Vimbai Mutokonyi (Zanu PF) who wanted to know government policy regarding underutilized farms.
“I want to thank the honorable member for this pertinent question. There are people who have been given farms but are not using them. The Land Commission has reviewed the lands to see what is happening on each farm. You will find that letters of withdrawal will come because people have been given farms to be productive, not just to have housing.
Minister Ziyambi reiterated the Government’s commitment to ensuring that agricultural land is used in the most productive manner. The aim of the audit was to come up with a Land Information Management System (LIMS) that would address issues including multiple farm ownerships and dual allotments.
LIMS saw 254,538 farms across the country reviewed to look at land allocation, distribution of beneficiaries by farm categories, where they come from, investment made by beneficiaries, production, land management, environmental management, and provision of social services.
Other issues covered within the scope include issues of extension services, where farmers obtain information on agriculture, the methods and business models they use, leasing, joint ventures, security of tenure and enjoyment of a basket of rights.
After presenting the report to President Mnangagwa, Chairman of the ZLC, Commissioner Tendai Barry said the LIMS was a database created from the audit of state vested farmland which excluded community land and this was a constitutional mandate.
“There has been a lot of double allocation and we are dealing with it through dispute resolution, but I believe that by using this database we will reduce double allocations because before a plot of land is allocated, its status will be determined,” she said. “In fact, the land audit process will help this ministry.” Do a lot of cleaning where necessary.
Commissioner Barry said the LIMS would also address multiple farm ownership issues.
Up to 260,000 people on the farm waiting list are expected to benefit when the government begins reallocating abandoned or underutilized farms. Announce
