“Five cattle from the accused families strayed into (the local farmer’s) garden and destroyed part of his 500 plant Rodent tomato crop. 500 plants produce less than 1,000 kg of the produce valued at no more than $300 then.
‘‘This was due to the poor 2010 tomato market. Normally, 500 plants would produce tomatoes valued at $700 at most. We were shocked to see the debt collector descending on the farm last week to instruct owners of the beasts to pay $886 each, two years after the incident happened,” said a villager.
The farmer demanding restitution started renting the farm in 2010, against the government land policy which bars resettled plot holders from leasing out acquired properties. If the debt collector gets his way, the local farmer would pocket $4,480, leaving the already struggling victims worse off.
Villagers have called on responsible government offices to intervene.
Post published in: News