HARARE – The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement has announced that five banks are now operating within its one-stop center to provide mortgage facilities to farmers who have received new title deeds under the ongoing land tenure program.
This development was highlighted during a parliamentary session on Wednesday where the Minister Anxious Masuka, addressed questions regarding the issuance of title deeds and their utility for accessing financing.
Masuka stated that these five financial institutions are “ready to give mortgages for farmers to purchase their land and also to give support to enable those farmers to be productive on their farms.”
He did not mention the names of the banks but Nehanda Radio understands that CBZ Bank is one of them.
He described this as “a very good start to this programme” and expressed hope that other banks would follow suit.
The Minister also urged farmers who have received their title deeds to utilize these documents to secure much-needed financing to enhance their agricultural activities.
During the parliamentary discussions, Zanu-PF Youth Parliament Youth Quarter MP Stanley Sakupwanya raised the issue of farmers with 99-year leases facing difficulties in obtaining loans.
Masuka acknowledged this challenge and emphasized that the issuance of title deeds, as the “ultimate tenure documents,” is intended to build confidence among financial institutions.
“When we had the 99-year lease, the thinking was that this was a more long-term tenure document that would give everyone, including banks, the confidence to land,” the Minister stated.
“The experience that we have had over the years, of course is that these tenure documents, the 99-year lease were not readily accepted by banks as collateral. It is in this context that the President made the revolutionary step to grant the issuance of title deeds.
“Title deeds are the ultimate tenure documents and hopefully with consultations from banks, they will be able to take these.
“Nonetheless as an example, we already have five banks that are operating within the Department of Lands at the one-stop centre which are ready to give mortgages for farmers to purchase their land and also to give support to enable those farmers to be productive on their farms, which is a very good start to this programme.
“We hope that other banks will be able to replicate this and we urge all farmers that have received title deeds to use these documents to be able to access much needed financing to ensure that they become more productive on their land.”
This initiative follows the government’s move to issue title deeds to beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme, a more secure form of land tenure compared to the previously offered 99-year leases.
Banks had reportedly been hesitant to accept the leases as collateral for loans. The introduction of title deeds aims to address this challenge and empower farmers to access capital for investment and growth.
The Minister also stated that the issuance of these new title deeds is based on the State’s ownership of the land following its acquisition, as outlined in the Constitution. He stated that the new titles are issued for value and do not reference the original title deeds.
The government has encouraged A1 and A2 farmers who have not yet completed the necessary forms to do so in order to receive their title deeds.
“May I take this opportunity, Mr. Speaker Sir, to urge those A2 farmers and A1 farmers that have not completed the forms to enable them to get these more secure tenure documents to immediately do so?
“Also, to urge all of us to remind our colleagues, our constituencies, that this is a lifetime opportunity availed by our President,” the Minister noted.
