Letter to Editor – Newsday July 20 2010
We need land market to realise land reform gains
Dear Editor
Thank you for informative news which is top shelf to say the least. Of particular interest was the story headlined “Land titling sparks uproar in Parliament” of July 16 2010. This was a follow up to the events that occurred in Parliament when Tendai Biti announced his mid-term budget.
As a nation that relies heavily on agriculture we cannot afford to put thorns in the way of agricultural progress. The government alone cannot fund agriculture hence the failure to meet the projected wheat estimates this season.
We are now only expecting a mere quarter of the projected harvest. This is because government SEPs failed to deliver imports to farmers on time. Had there been security of tenure then the farmers would have mortgaged their land, bought their inputs directly from seed houses and meet the projected wheat harvest.
Patrick Zhuwawo came out on ZBC News hour saying that farmers can use their livestock as collateral but one thing the MP forgot to look at was the fact that for banks to release funds with livestock as collateral, the livestock should be insured of which few if not all of our farmers do not have insurances.
We need a land market to realise fully the gains of the land reform programme.
Thank you.
Anon