Government threatens to confiscate farms

The government of Equatorial Guinea has threatened to confiscate some smallholdings it gave several years ago to farmers to develop agricultural production near the capital, AFP reported a source from the Ministry for Public Works as saying on Monday. The farms, many of which lie within a six-km perimeter around Malabo, were allocated to the farmers on the basis that a payment of 10 percent of their value would be made to the government. According to the government, the farmers have not increased their production, nor have they paid off the balance outstanding on the property. Some beneficiaries, the source told AFP, have turned their farms into building plots and sold them at high prices to third parties or foreign companies. The ministry has been ordered by the government to identify such properties and confiscate them, AFP reported.