George Maponga Masvingo Bureau

Government has deployed verification teams to resolve land disputes as part of a renewed thrust to ensure the nation focuses on optimising agricultural production in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision to make Zimbabwe self-sufficient in food.

This comes amid reports that some farmers had occupied State land in areas such as Chiredzi using fake offer letters, while boundary disputes were disrupting farming operations in other areas.

Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri said Government sought to end uncertainty in land ownership through resolving all land disputes to make sure the nation’s predisposition was on working the land.

Minister Shiri said resolving disputes around land ownership would spur investment in the agricultural sector.

“‘We have despatched teams that are going around the country looking at various issues affecting farming operations on farms,” he said.

“The teams have been deployed countrywide and are looking at complaints on issues such as boundary disputes.

“There is no particular province where the teams are concentrating on, but they are going to all parts of the country to resolve outstanding issues because we want to create certainty so that our people can focus on increasing production.”

The deployment of the verification teams comes as reports continue to filter in Masvingo that some farmers, particularly in Chiredzi district were occupying State land on the strength of fake offer letters.

The use of fake offer letters was reportedly rife amongst sugarcane out-grower farmers.

Besides fake offer letters, some of the farmers in the Lowveld were reportedly arbitrarily expanding their farms.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Ezra Chadzamira confirmed the prevalence of fake offer letters and said teams were on the ground to flush out such malfeasance.

“We have Government teams in Chiredzi that are probing reports of alleged proliferation of fake offer letters, we have reports that some people have fake offer letters while others extended their farms without permission,” he said.

Minister Chadzamira said the Masvingo provincial lands committee had recommended deployment of verification teams to the Lowveld in an attempt to bring sanity in the sugar cane farming sector.

He dismissed reports of alleged impropriety in the allocation of suga cane plots to new farmers who occupied more than 4 000 hectares at Triangle and Hippo Valley estates.

Chiredzi has arguably the highest number of pending land disputes, with most new farmers mainly haggling over farm boundaries.

Government established the Land Commission to deal with disputes such as farm boundaries and the commission has already started a comprehensive land audit to stem vices such as multiple farm ownership and underutilisation of land.