Farmers warned over unsanctioned joint ventures

FARMERS who violate the Zimbabwe Land Commission Act by subletting their farms without the Government’s nod risk being evicted from the farms, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka, has said.

The Act stipulates that any farmer who subleases his/her farm must be evicted and the Government allocates the piece of land to productive farmers.

Addressing officers from his ministry in Hurungwe recently during a tour of winter wheat fields, Minister Masuka said farmers who wish to sublet their farms were supposed to regularise the joint ventures with the Government first.

“The only authority in terms of land redistribution in Zimbabwe is the President,” he said. “He exercises that through the Minister of Lands and there is no other authority and no one can sublease. The Zimbabwe Land Commission Act is very clear, anyone who subleases, must be evicted and this should be highlighted to every farmer that they must regularise.”

Minister Masuka said once farmers sublease their farms without the Government’s approval, they would be automatically evicted from the farms.

“As a Government, we realised that we can now allow joint ventures, but they ought to be registered and approved by the Ministry of Lands before operationalisation.

“Currently, we have just under 800 joint ventures in the country on 67 000 hectares,” he said.-herald.cl.zw