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Farmers without land offer letters get reprieve
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
January 12, 2007

http://www1.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=13812&cat=1&livedate=1/12/2007

FARMERS who have been utilising land without offer letters will be allowed to harvest their crops and then move out to make way for rightful land owners.

This is in line with the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act which deals with illegal farm occupiers and farmers refusing to make way for those that have been given offer letters.

For farmers who planted grain crops such as maize, sorghum, millet, rapoko, the cut-off date is July 31 this year, while that for those who grew seed maize is August 31.

Tobacco and paprika farmers will have until March 31 to harvest their crops on the fields.

However, the district technical committee will consider curing and marketing arrangements as per situation and assessment. Both these activities must be undertaken not later than September 30 this year.

Cut-off dates for other crops and livestock and wildlife have also been set. A provision provides for the acquisition of the farming equipment under the Agricultural Equipment and Material Act by the Government to benefit the new farmer.

The Secretary for Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement, Mr Ngoni Masoka, said the purpose of the guidelines, released yesterday, was to enable the responsible authority to manage the transitional process in a smooth and transparent manner between the incoming and outgoing farmers.

"We want incoming farmers to be allowed access to the plots they have been offered to embark on agricultural activities as to the conditions of his offer letter," said Mr Masoka.

"The outgoing farmers should be enabled to harvest their crops without any disruption in that process."

The Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act came into force on December 20 last year.

It provides for the service of two eviction notices, one giving 45 days to farmers identified and gazetted before Constitutional Amendment Number 17 and the other which gives 90 days to farms identified and gazetted on and after the amendment.

According to the guidelines, farmers who are not engaged in farming but resident on the farm should have vacated on or before the 45 or 90-day period as per the eviction notice.

Those who are resident on the farm and carrying out farming would be allowed to harvest their crops on the given conditions.

The Government would purchase the equipment from the outgoing farmer for the new farmer who will then pay the Government.

A total of 231 251 families under model A1 (communal and small-scale) and A2 (large-scale) have been resettled on 10 662 162 hectares.

Mr Masoka has appealed to all A2 farmers who have applied for 99-year leases to return their application forms so that their lease documents can be registered.

He said all farmers who have not yet submitted the forms should do so on or before January 26, 2007.

"This notice serves to notify all those A2 farmers who qualified for 99-year leases agreements to complete and return their application forms to the Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement head office before January 26 2007 to enable the registration of their lease documents," said Mr Masoka.

He said the registration of the lease documents would make it possible for the farmers to obtain loans from financial institutions.

"It is a requirement that these leases be registered at the Deeds Registry so they should submit the forms to enable us to register," Mr Masoka said.

The Government introduced the concept of 99-year leases to give security of tenure to A2 farmers.

The leases act as collateral security for farmers who wish to get loans from financial institutions.

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