Land control, agricultural development, and the Agricultural Lands Act, CAP 292, of the laws of Zambia

Mulimbwa, A.C.

AfricaBib

bibliographic database
Line

New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article

Leiden University catalogue

WorldCat

Title:	Land control, agricultural development, and the Agricultural Lands Act, CAP 292, of the laws of Zambia
Author:	Mulimbwa, A.C.
Year:	1987
Periodical:	Zambia Law Journal
Volume:	19
Pages:	35-61
Language:	English
Notes:	biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:	Zambia Central Africa
Subjects:	land law law agricultural development land use Zambia. Agricultural Lands Act imperialism
Abstract:	The Agricultural Lands Ordinance of 1960, which after Zambia's independence became an Act, sought to afford tenants an opportunity to convert their leaseholds into freeholds and to ensure, as far as possible, that agricultural land was adequately developed by making the grant of a freehold interest dependent on the fulfilment of specified minimum development goals. After sketching its colonial background, the author evaluates the Act in terms of its contribution to agricultural development. Specifically, he examines the impact of the Act as administered by the Agricultural Lands Board after independence. Of crucial importance are the relationship between the Minister and the Board, and the way in which the Board interprets the Act and the criteria prescribed for alienating land and the granting of consent to dealings in land. The author concludes that the Agricultural Lands Act is a colonial legacy based on a different mode of agricultural production. It seeks to base agriculture on those who have financial resources and experience of commercial farming. Only in those cases where there is more than one applicant who is of equal standing can the Board give preference to the competitor who is not already the holder of agricultural land. With the coming of independence, and a change in emphasis from production by a small elite of commercial farmers to the masses, the Act is no longer appropriate. Notes, ref.