Eight farms for N$82 million

The land reform ministry acquired eight farms for resettlement, with a combined size of 39 731 hectares, to the tune of N$82.9 million during the 2022/2023 financial year.Deputy minister Anna Shiweda said this in her budget motivation, adding that funding resource constraints and market price considerations limit the scale and speed of land acquisition.According to her, 18 beneficiaries were resettled under the reporting year, while one co-operative was given three units.She said the ministry further acquired three farms near the Neckartal Dam, with a combined size of 19 137 hectares, at a cost of more than N$18.6 million.This is for the development of the Neckartal Irrigation Project Phase 2, she added.“Over 2 180 communal land right registrations were ratified by the communal land boards, thus strengthening the security of land tenure in communal areas.”Furthermore, a revised resettlement policy was approved by Cabinet, providing for - among other things - the option of resettled farmers having titles over their allocated farms, thus fully realising the empowerment objectives of the land reform agenda.Post-resettlement supportShiweda said for the 2023/2024 financial year, more than N$220.6 million has been allocated to land reform.“This proposed allocation aims to, among other things, support land acquisition for resettlement purposes, the provision of post-resettlement support services and supporting programme implementation in collaboration with the regional authorities.”She said it will also assist with the development of regional land-use plans and the implementation of the flexible land tenure system to provide title deeds to residents in urban and peri-urban areas.“One of the transformational reforms envisaged for the coming financial year is the tabling of the Land Bill in Parliament, which is now at advanced legal drafting stage.”Shiweda said the Bill will, among other things, provide a legal framework to implement the resolutions of the second national land conference.Further, a revised criterion for resettlement will be developed on the back of the revised resettlement policy to give greater impetus to assessed productivity of farms and to promote youth, women and vulnerable groups’ consideration in resettlement activities.The proposed total budget for the agriculture, water and land reform ministry amounts to N$1.75 billion.

Eight farms for N$82 million

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-18

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Eight farms for N$82 million

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-18

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