Landowners agree on issuance of tenancy land leases to 72 farmers
Some of the Nawaicoba farmers who were given their tenancy land lease agreement offer letters on Friday said they would have preferred a registered lease offer. Farmer Ashok Kumar, 48, said the 50 years of tenancy lease was okay but he would have preferred to be given a 50-year lease. “We have received 50 years of tenancy lease, we’re happy but what we wanted was a registered lease,” Mr Kumar said. Mr Kumar has been farming the past 40 years.
He was one of the first of the 72 farmers to receive their offer letters from the iTaukei Land Trust Board on Friday.
The offer letter states that they are to execute the lease upon settlement over the listed payments within six weeks. They are expected to pay an amount of money on a yearly basis.
The land is situated at the Nalovo Subdivision in Momi in the Nadroga Navosa province.
“I will cultivate the land for agricultural purposes. I have been farming for 40 years,” he said.
“We have waited for four years for an outcome even though we are not happy we will still take the offer.”
Another farmer, 57-year-old father of three, Parmenand Naidu said he had stayed in the area for more than 50 years. “For the last four years we have been requesting for a registered lease but they gave us a tenancy lease,” he added.
TLTB Acting Senior State Officer, Akuila Waqa said formalities will be carried out today including the instrumental tenancy document to those they were not able to receive theirs on Friday. He said the agreement was a 50 years tenancy lease term considering that that was what the landowning unit (mataqali) in Yako, Nadi wanted.
“They supported the idea to give the lease to the farmers but under the tenancy agreement,” Mr Waqa said.