The Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) has recovered 6,000 acres of its land that had been grabbed countrywide, Managing Director Mohamed Bule says.
Bule who was touring the ADC Kisiwani Top Farm in Malindi sub-county, Kilifi county Wednesday in the company of the ADC Board of Directors led by its chair Dr. Joseph Rotumoi said that 3,000 acres had been recovered at the Malindi farm while another 3,000 recovered at Ndabibi farm in Naivasha, Nakuru County.
"The land that has already been recovered includes 3,000 acres at Top Farm which was recovered from alleged squatters. A lot of land was sold to unsuspecting Kenyans. The other land is 3,000 acres at Ndabibi in Naivasha, and also 60 acres from Kitale Semen Production Centre. The progress in recovering land has been enhanced over the years and we can say that most of the land is back in our hands," he said.
Dr. Rotumoi said that there is a plan to fence the ADC land across the country to deter land grabbers and squatters as they try to recover more of its lost land.
"We have been talking to organizations like the National Youth Service who have the resources so that we can partner with them to do fencing. The fencing can be in the form of a life fence, electric fence, or trenches around the farms. The securing of land is more important now than before because of Kenyans being mad about possessing land," he said.
ADC Director Ephantus Murage said together with surveyors, ADC discovered that more than 600,000 acres of its Galana Kulalu ranches were being subdivided for sale by land grabbers and moved fast to halt the process.
"I want to appreciate government action because we could have lost 673,000 acres at Galana Kulalu. The hiving-off and subdivision was at a rate of 25,000 acres every month," he said.
Rotumoi said that his team was on a familiarization tour of the ADC properties in the coast region so that they can plan on how to invest.
"The challenges that our people face include land grabbing, poaching and inadequate staff. We have millions of acres of land that we would wish to maximize their production," said Rotumoi.
The state agency has vast lands spread across the country in the counties of Kilifi, Tana River, Garissa, Laikipia, Nakuru and Trans Nzoia.
