THE government has demanded farm owners to submit production returns as it seeks to repossess and redistribute underutilised land.

Speaking in the National Assembly yesterday, Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka, pictured, said unproductive farmers risked losing their land.

“We have requested farm owners to submit production returns and the deadline was February 15. We want to know which farms are underutilised. We asked them to state reasons why their farms are underutilised.

“We are in the process of collecting this information which will allow us to accelerate the pace to identify the underutilised and abandoned land,” Masuka said.

He also said the government was in the process of identifying multiple ownerships, abandoned farms, derelict farms and underutilised farms.

More than 200 000 people are on the farm waiting list across the country’s provinces.

Norton independent legislator Temba Mliswa said the government must first avail resources to farmers before asking for production returns.

“Many farms are being underutilised because famers do not have resources. I think the government must give resources first and talk about production after that,” Mliswa said

After Masuka’s presentation, Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala and Southerton legislator Peter Moyo, said opposition members were not getting access to land.

Masuka denied the claim saying land was given to all people who applied for it.

In 2000, the government backed a war veterans-led land reform programme which saw the seizure of hundreds of white-owned farms.

However, since the land seizure — which led to a drastic reduction in the country’s agricultural productivity and consequent decimation of the economy — most farms have been lying idle.