Streamline land acquisition - Dr Dobge

Yendi (N/R), Mar 4, GNA - Dr Wilson Dobge, a Director of the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) at Nyanpkala in the Northern Region, has called for measures to streamline the system of land acquisition particularly in the region.

He said because it was based on "non-registration of land and oral customary transactions and oral agreement with family members" leading to land disputes and litigations.

Lack of proper laws and unclear boundary structures pose challenges in the land tenure system, he stated.

Dr Dobge made these remarks in a paper on a research on "Institutional and Traditional Land Management Practices" at a seminar at Yendi at the weekend.

The programme was organised by Radio Justice, a Tamale-FM radio station with support from the BUSAC fund to dialogue on the land tenure system in the Northern Region.

It was to find ways of improving farming in the three northern regions.

The seminar on the theme, "Transparency in the distribution of farm land as an instrument of farm promotion in the Northern Region" was also to promote understanding about customary land administration and to help improve institutional and customary practices to ensure transparency. Dr Dogbe said the practice made it almost impossible to control Fulani herdsmen whose animals destroyed farm crops.

Dr Dobge called for the training of community leaders in basic methods in land management such as titling, registration and valuation, adding that, offices should be established to take care of mapping, developing and proper use of community farm lands to ensure equity in allocation to family members.

He appealed to farmers particularly those in the Northern Region to improve their practices for sedentary agriculture to ensure improved soil fertility.

Dr Dobge advised them to engage in crop rotation, introduction of legumes into the cropping system, growing of pastures, re-forestation and control factors that contributed to land degradation.

Alhaji Mohammad Habib Tijani, Yendi District Chief Executive (DCE), said the district was not receiving enough investment in agriculture due to the challenges involved in the land acquisition processes, which led to land disputes.

He said the district had fertile land suitable for a variety of crops and called on the youth to take to farming to reduce poverty in the area.

Small ruminants and ranching, teak, cashew and mango cultivation should also be undertaken on a commercial scale to alleviate poverty in the area.

Alhaji Tijani commended the Radio Station for conducting a comprehensive research on farm management in the Northern Region particularly in the Yendi locality.

He stressed the need to fund and apply such research findings to improve farming.

Mr Issah Nasigre, Northern Regional Director of National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), said noted that increasing population pressure on agricultural practices had made land inadequate and unavailable for the best method of farming.

He said if proper measures were not put in place to control land acquisition and utilisation, farming would be very difficult for the poor since almost every piece of land had an owner.