Nyagatare mayor warns against poor land use

Authorities in Nyagatare District have given farmers, who flouted a directive on land use, an ultimatum of three months to revert to the originally earmarked dairy farming arrangement or risk losing their farms.Speaking to The New Times, area Mayor Fred Atuhe Sabiiti, expressed his disappointment after some farmers switched land earmarked for livestock farming to crops. He pointed out that the area is blessed with good pasture land for dairy farming.He lamented that such farmers were retarding development in the area, warning that they risk losing their land to other potential cattle keepers.“The main economic activity of our district is farming... we expected people to practise modern dairy farming when we allocated them land. It is thus disheartening to see that the land is now used for growing crops,’ the visibly upset mayor pointed out.Sabiiti noted that a special task force has been set up to identify farmers involved in the practice.“We cannot allow anybody to mess up with our land use plan. By December, this year, whoever will not have complied with the order will lose their land. We are evaluating every piece of land to see if our scientific approach is in order. We shall not allow anyone to sabotage it, whether out of ignorance or deliberately.”A farmer in the area, Richard Rutinduka, insisted that farmers should be offered an opportunity to diversify productivity when need arises.He, however, noted that some farmers were inconsistent; adding that there was need to educate local residents.“It is true that our district’s main activity is farming...the nature of the land allows for extensive cattle keeping. Some farmers seem not to get it right. In some cases though, we should allow farmers to change from one category of farming to another as long as they make profits.” Nyagatare has the largest number of livestock in the country.

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Nyagatare mayor warns against poor land use