Online Reporter
Precious Manomano
Herald Reporter
BANKS have initiated outreach programmes aimed at providing mortgage loans to farmers, with over 1 000 expressing interest in processing their title deeds through this route.
This initiative is designed to support farmers in acquiring title deeds for their land, enabling them to use their properties as collateral for better financial opportunities.
This development follows President Mnangagwa’s launch of a programme to issue title deeds to beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme, granting them full ownership rights. To date, over 5 288 farmers from various provinces have shown interest, with 21 title deeds having been physically printed.
In an interview in Harare yesterday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Professor Obert Jiri said the programme is gaining momentum with significant farmer participation.
“Farmers are coming to get their title deeds processed. Before starting the mortgage processes, we had 1 002 farmers who expressed interest in having their title deeds processed via the mortgage route. Now these are being expedited to ensure that they all get their title deeds,” he said.
Professor Jiri highlighted that there are two categories of farmers concerning title deeds: those who pay in cash, which has been largely successful since the programme’s inception, and those opting for the mortgage route.
“These are predominantly the farmers that we want to get their deeds done. We have had a lot of clients from provinces, and their deeds are being processed.”
To ensure efficient processing, A1 farmers are being surveyed across provinces, with Mashonaland Central submitting a list of 1 000 title deeds which are currently being processed.
Prof Jiri said the Deeds Office, however, is printing these at a slower pace due to system modifications, and there are several deeds pending registration.
He said despite the positive developments, challenges remain as some farmers are facing disputes regarding their land or have not had their farms surveyed.
“Of course, we still have farmers who are coming through with their farms not surveyed or with disputes. But these are being attended to as expeditiously as possible, and we should be able to resolve most of these challenges,” Prof Jiri said.
Zimbabwe National Farmers union president Mrs Monica Chinamasa stressed the importance of banks assisting farmers in acquiring title deeds and the need to raise awareness among small-scale farmers.
“This is a good move, but we need to create awareness among small-scale farmers that banks are ready to assist them.”
However, Mrs Chinamasa also pointed out that many small-scale farmers must rectify boundary issues to secure their title deeds.
The outreach programmes represent a significant step towards empowering farmers in Zimbabwe by facilitating access to mortgage loans and securing title deeds.
Continued efforts and awareness will be crucial in addressing the remaining challenges and ensuring a smooth processing experience for all farmers.
