Staff Reporter
THE National Council’s Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources has urged the Agriculture Ministry to reconsider the 99-year leasehold duration of resettlement farms, suggesting it be adjusted to a period when a lessee can purchase the land.
This recommendation was highlighted in the Report of the National Council Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources following an oversight visit to the Hardap, Khomas, //Kharas, Oshana, Omusati, Ohangwena, and Oshikoto regions.
According to the committee, its recommendation to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to review the leasehold duration of resettlement farms is based on the belief that the 99-year leasehold limits the true ownership of land by the previously disadvantaged.
This is just one of several challenges that the committee identified in the Resettlement Programme. Other challenges include the resettlement criteria scoring system, inadequate pre- and post-settlement support for farmers, and a lack of effective monitoring and evaluation of the resettlement process.
“There remain critical challenges in the resettlement programme that have hampered its overall success. The Committee identified the scoring system of the resettlement criteria as a major concern in that it does not accurately project the most suitable and capable beneficiaries of the programme. This, the Committee found, is due to the fact that the criteria can be easily manipulated and therefore needs to be reviewed to ensure that selected beneficiaries are those who are truly able to farm productively,” the committee said.
Besides this, the committee raised concerns about the pre- and post-settlement support provided to farmers by the ministry, pointing out that it is not sufficient to meet the needs of farmers, many of whom are placed on farms that are dilapidated and in need of extensive renovations and repairs.
“As per the Resettlement Programme, the line Ministry should support resettled farmers for a period of up to five years. Currently, this is not happening due to a lack of human resources, and thus, resettlement farmers do not receive adequate support to enable them to farm productively,” the committee added.
The committee also highlighted a lack of effective monitoring and evaluation, leading to issues such as government-purchased farms remaining unoccupied for five years before beneficiaries are allocated, resulting in infrastructure deterioration and theft.
“One of the main objectives of the Resettlement Programme was to address landlessness among generational farm workers and the previously disadvantaged. However, generational farm workers remain negatively affected when the government purchases farms for resettlement. Additionally, the broad category of previously disadvantaged individuals may have some adverse effects on the resettlement programme as it has made it more competitive for the most vulnerable to be resettled,” the National Council’s Standing Committee said.
The committee therefore advised the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to enhance training and financial support for resettled farmers, create a robust monitoring and evaluation system, and review the resettlement criteria to ensure they effectively select the most suitable candidates.
They also recommended reducing the time required to allocate farms and ensuring proper maintenance to prevent theft and damage from prolonged vacancies. Additionally, the committee suggested addressing uncontrolled and illegal occupation of resettlement farms to prevent disruption to planned projects.