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Thursday, 2 August, 2001, 22:39 GMT 23:39 UK
Zimbabwe targets more white farms
War veterans are involved in the take-over of land
The Zimbabwean Government says it has almost doubled the amount of white-owned land earmarked for the resettlement of blacks.
In his first ever address to the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) the Land Minister, Joseph Made, told white farmers that the government now plans to resettle not less than 8.3 million hectares - 90% of white-owned land instead of the original five million.
"If (you) continue contesting the issues of land beyond any reasonable limit... then I think we are going to have a problem," he said. Earlier, the CFU had appealed to the government to end the seizure of their farms by blacks. Farmers defiant Speakers at the conference said they would continue to fulfil their "obligation to society" as farmers and described current redistribution schemes as politically motivated.
"The country will once more be governed pragmatically and responsibly," he added. Farmers vowed to press forward with an alternative plan to hand over one million hectares and provide support services to re-settled farmers. The government is yet to endorse the proposal. Production fall War veterans and militants who support the government's land policy have been involved in the violent take-over of white owned land. Sharp falls in agricultural production in the commercial sector over the past year have been blamed on lawlessness during the take-overs. And farmers estimate that overall production of food and tobacco will fall by over 25% this year. |
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