The Committee for Better Utilization of Land (CBUL), which has been in place since 2008 to encourage landowners to lease their land for agricultural purposes, is currently under scrutiny.

Minister for Agriculture and Waterways Vatimi Rayalu addressed concerns in parliament regarding the effectiveness and future of the programme, which has received annual budget allocations through the Ministry of Agriculture.

The cabinet’s endorsement for the CBUL programme expired in 2022, and the last payment was made in the 2023-2024 financial year.

[Minister for Agriculture and Waterways Vatimi Rayalu]

Due to the unclear impact of the programme, the Ministry of Finance did not approve further budget allocation for CBUL in the 2024-2025 financial year.

Rayalu says the CBUL programme was originally designed to incentivize landowners to lease their land, particularly for sugar production, by providing a subsidy to cover a portion of the lease payments.

“The CBUL Programme aimed to motivate landowners to give quick consent to lease their land for agricultural purposes. However, there was a lack of feedback regarding the impact of the annual expenditure of $6.9 million due to poor monitoring and evaluation.”

Rayalu says several issues have arisen, including the possibility that some leased land under the CBUL Programme is not being used for agricultural production, the expiry of leases, and that other lands may have been rezoned for commercial development but continue to receive CBUL assistance.

This subsidy, which began at six percent and increased to 10 percent, aimed to ensure that land was utilized rather than left idle.

Over time, the programme expanded beyond the sugar industry to include other agricultural commodities.