EDITORIAL: Why shortage of land for farming in rural areas?

Reports that youth in Arumeru District, Arusha Region, are relocating to Kenya in droves because of a shortage of land for agriculture are surprising, to say the least. They are surprising because the district is essentially part of Arusha City’s hinterland, where agriculture is supposed to be the mainstay of the local economy.

Tanzania has a population of 54 million and an area of 945,087 square kilometres, with most of the land being arable. Whereas it is understandable when Tanzanians complain about unemployment, it is absurd for people to claim that they have no land to till, particularly in rural areas. It shows that something is wrong somewhere, and needs to be fixed as a matter of urgency.

Part of the problem is the transfer by village governments of huge tracts of land to “investors”, who usually use it as security to secure bank loans instead of cultivating it or using it for other economic activities. Such land is in most cases idle, but strictly out of bounds to local residents who may wish to cultivate it.

It has been revealed that an investor in Arumeru District is leasing land to local residents for agriculture at Sh40,000 per hectare per farming season. Unfortunately, this state of affairs is representative of the situation in many other rural areas across the country.

The arbitrary and often secretive transfer of vast tracts of land to people with deep pockets in rural areas should stop, otherwise Tanzania will find itself with no land for its millions of smallholders in the near future.

Of course, there are investors who are genuinely intent on putting rural land to good use, with some of the benefits trickling down to the local population. These should be accorded all the support they need. Land should be readily available to Tanzanians who wish to be involved in agriculture in rural areas.