Forty-nine farmers who were previously granted leases at Seafield, Region Five, will be facilitated to occupy their respective lands, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said yesterday.Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha announced the decision during a meeting yesterday, with farmers and residents of Shieldstown and Seafield.
Several issues affecting agriculture in the surrounding communities were raised at the meeting.
The Seafield land matter was among the main issues discussed, with farmers seeking greater certainty over access to lands that have been the subject of concerns for several years, DPI said.
The agriculture minister outlined steps to address the concerns to remove obstacles to production and improve conditions for farmers.
He said discussions had sought to address competing concerns among cattle farmers and cash crop and multi-purpose crop farmers.
“There were two sides, the cattle farmers and the cash crop farmers and the multi-purpose crop. At that meeting, we decided that we will divide the land discussion we will have both sides occupy the land”, he stated.
He said that it was agreed that farmers involved in the multi-purpose crop would receive portions of land, while cattle farmers were asked to organise themselves into a group before individual leases were issued.
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