24 Dec 2019

Parliament has been informed that Ngwato Land Board has suspended all activities pertaining to the Dukwi farms to open for between the land authority, Water Utilities Corporation and the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food security.

Responding to a question in Parliament recently, agricultural development and food security assistant minister, Ms Beauty Manake said in 2012, her ministry resolved to use a portion of Dukwi Quarantine Camp for commercial arable farming since the camp was not fully utilised.

Ms Manake said the process of allocating the 23 demarcated plots of the camp commenced in March 2017 through an advertisement and 13 plots were allocated in September 2017.

She said another advertisement for the remaining 10 plots was done in 2018.

However, Ms Manake said WUC intervened citing that the farms were sitting on well fields that supplied water to the surrounding villages and therefore the underground aquifers could be contaminated through crop production activities through the use of agrochemicals.

“WUC, therefore requested Ngwato Land Board to suspend the allocation process and any further developments on the farms,” said Ms Manake.

She said discussions were still ongoing and was hopeful that the matter would be resolved soon.

Member of Parliament for Nata/Gweta constituency, Mr Polson Majaga has asked the minister to update Parliament on when the Dukwi quarantine farms would be allocated to those who applied in 2015.

Mr Majaga also wanted clarity given that consultations with WUC and Land Board, as concerned stakeholders, were long done.

He also wanted to know how soon some farmers who had applied for such land would be allocated so as to start ploughing since others had long been allocated plots. ends