The private sector has been commended for their contribution to import substitution through the escalation of the growing of oil palm.

SPICE farmers in Ulugulu Mountains are earning windfall profits thanks to a project which has
introduced them to modern agriculture practices and use of hybrid seeds

A recent report by Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania said over 1,500 farmers from the Uluguru Mountains catchment area and 172 model farmers from other regions backed by 31 agriculture extension officers are benefited directly from the Uluguru Spice Project.

Fear of China fueled the activism, though frustrations had accumulated over stagnant living conditions in the provinces.

Kazakhstan is on the cusp of imposing a permanent ban on the sale and lease of agricultural land to foreigners. It is a rare victory for grassroots campaigning, but may be a blow for a sector in sore need of outside investment and expertise.

SOME famers from Mbeya Region have lost an appeal case, seeking to invalidate the High Court's decision on demand over 1bn/- as compensation and damages against Kapunga Rice Project, which was accused of maliciously damaging their rice.

This follows the decision of the Court of Appeal to "strike out" for being time barred the appeal lodged by five farmers, the appellants, who had sued, by way of representative suit, the Kapunga Rice Project, the respondent, before the High Court at Mbeya.

THE government has been forced to reintroduce its defunct Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) after financial institutions grouped under the Bankers Association and resolved not to accept the state-issued 99-year farm leases.

Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said his government had over the past 10 years held discussions with senior bank executives as they dangled a carrot for the bankers to finance the state issued 99-year farm leases.

The government’s proposal is that the farm leases will enable resettled farmers to access financial loans and boost production.

Hiber Sugar requested federal government intervention to resolve its dispute with the regional government of Amhara, which it accused of transferring its 6,183 hectare of land to unidentified investors and people relocated from other areas.  

Established a decade ago, Hiber has been at loggerheads with the region’s Rural Land Administration and Use Bureau for the last five years, after the Bureau revoked its license for its failure to clear the land and start operations on time.

DORDABIS residents have threatened war if the government fails to meet their demands listed in a petition they handed over last week, which land reform minister Calle Schlettwein said he had not received as of yesterday.

This is despite Windhoek rural constituency councillor Piet Adams confirming to The Namibian that he presented the petition to the minister's office.

Dordabis residents staged a demonstration last week over their landlessness and to demand an improvement in their living conditions.

Just as many Uzbek farmers began sowing the seeds for this season's crops, President Shavkat Mirziyoev called on them to give some of their agricultural land to young people without jobs.

The border barrier will decrease the number of cross-border attacks, but more needs to be done to secure the region.

LOCKDOWN restrictions aimed at fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in Lesotho have had an unintended adverse negative impact of undermining women's customary land rights, a regional human rights body has found.

The organisation, Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA), said its research on the impact of Covid-19 on women's customary land rights and livelihoods in southern Africa found that lockdown restrictions had worsened violations of women's customary land rights in the region.

Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Dr Anxious Masuka has advised farmers to have a good relationship with banks as Government’s plan to establish Agribank as a land bank is in order and will be complete in the next two months.

Dr Masuka said Agribank will be responsible for investment support and group landing as the Government intensifies commercialisation of the agriculture sector.

He was speaking at Nyamuseve Irrigation scheme in Guruve while touring such schemes and farms in the province on a technical assessment visit.