Posted on June, 9, 2021 at 08:28 am
PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has revoked title deeds for 11 undeveloped large farms with a total size of 24,119 acres in Kilosa District, Morogoro region.
The Head of State ordered the farms to be offered to residents to carry out economic activities such as agriculture, livestock and investments.
In the same vein, President Samia has endorsed the revival of 49 big farms with the total size of 45,788.5 acres that had been nationalized in the previous years.
The move to revive those farms, which remained idle since then, was also based on the fact that citizens needed the land for agricultural activities.
Some of farms include those previously owned by Sumagro Ltd located at Madoto (7,712 acres), Bumagro Ltd Kivungu (5,660 acres), M/S Sino Development (T) Ltd (6,945 acres), Abdallah Islam (307 acres), Mifugo Magairo la Magole (489 acres) and MS Masoni Company (466 acres).
Others were owned by Mitibora (T) Ltd (511 acres) and Ibrahim Magairo (516acres).
The Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, William Lukuvi revealed about the president's decision during his official visit to the Morogoro region yesterday.
The minister however warned that the decision to revoke the ownership of the farms did not mean that people could randomly occupy the farms without following proper procedures.
He explained a special team has been formed for designing a land use plan, particularly for the large farms, warning against people who would attempt to block the team from doing its job.
"We must have a land use plan for these farms and procedures to acquire them will be communicated by regional and district leaders. There should be no one trying to possess a piece of land without following procedures," he stated.
Elaborating on 49 revived farms, Mr Lukuvi said 30,672.2 acres out of the total 45,788.8 acres will be given back to Tanzanians and another 15,116.3 acres would be preserved for investments.
According to Mr Lukuvi, the main beneficiaries of the farms would be those who do not have any land.
"I don't want to see these farms given to people with the intention of accumulating more lands. We want these lands to help people in Kilosa district to earn income and positively change their lives," he stated.
On his part, Morogoro Regional Commissioner Martine Shigella, thanked the President for her decision to revoke the ownerships of undeveloped farms.
Mr Shigella said he would not hesitate to take action against local leaders who would be the source of conflicts during an exercise to plan the use of the farms.
Commenting, Kilosa lawmaker Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, who doubles as the Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, said the decision taken by the president has directly touched Kilosa residents, calling for support to the President's efforts in serving Tanzanians.
In the 2020/21 year, a total of 123 farms were evaluated in the districts of Kilosa, Mvomero and Morogoro.
11 farms were eventually revoked after their owners were found guilty of violating procedures guiding the development of the farms.
Source: Daily News