SMALL FARM PLAN

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 265, 2 July 1932, Page 4

SMALL FARM PLAN

PROGRESS REPORTED CRITICISM CONTRADICTED BY MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT FARMERS' CO-OPERATION Considerable progress has been 1 made during the past few weeks J with the development of the smal[| farm plan for the settlement of I unemployed married men and theitj families, according to a statement! made by the Minister of EjnpJoy. I ment, Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, before I his departure for Ottawa. I Although it was 'emphasised y the Minister that the full results J the settlement scheme would natnrj ally not become apparent in the iijl mediate future, he; said enough ptol gress had been made to show thatj the plan possessed considerable. sibilities for the placing of the'uneiij ployed iuto really_productive worJ which would henefit not only themJ selves but the country as a whole. I The manner in which the scheaJ had appealed to the country gener.J ally, and -to the farming comrrmnitjl im particular, which was obviouslyjJ a position to judge its potentialitieJ was illustrated by the response whiijl had been made for co-operation j| carrying the project through. TiiJ result was that up to the present trJ Government had been able to piatJ in hand the work for the constructiojl of about 300 of the specially-desigsl ed cottages which were to he placeffl on the allotments, and these would m sent to the localities where they wct«l to be used as soon as they were eorJ p'leted. I Advertising Repaid I In the first instance, there had beeil some criticism of the fact that tbfl Government had advertised the sclJ eme, but the expenditure in this diil ection would he repaid many times over. In gifts of land alone the G:l vernment had accepted entirely frj of cost holdings valued at sevei-J times the cost of the original adveil tising. [A consijderable amount 'cil land had been handed over to the GJ vernment for periods up to 10 yearl

free of rent, the State receiving m optidn to purchase at any time wittl in that period at a very low valiijl tion. I The details connected with tffl settlement of the unemployed wa being handled by the Department J Agriculture, and.a widespread crgael isation had been established hy tH department with a view to oxpeditica the prosecution of the work. TH men to be placed on the allotmeria would be selected with a view to « curing suitahle settlers, and althouja care would he taken to see that ma likely to prove a failure would notia sent to the country, everything will he done to give those willing to taifl up the work a real chance to get ama from the cities and enter upon eJ ployment 'that offer ed far better rfl turns than could he secured in tifl urhan ar'eas at the present time. I To the limit of the finance avaia able, and the extent to which the ha partment of Agriculture and faraiea generally could help, the new settlea woulcUbe given every assistance ■ make a success of their venture. ■ was most gratifying to find that™ farming community had accepted™ scheme as a sound proposition il permanent value. ■ Services of Farmers ■ Up to the present it was estimat™ that 1000 farmers had offered ttefl services as members of the adviso™ committees which were to be set™ throughout the Dominion, and wti™ would work in collaboration with tfl Department of Agriculture. ■ The great majority of these far™ ers were prominent men in their d™ tricts, and their co-operation 170™ be of great value. Although it premature to detail the activities the™ committees would undertake, it n expected they would do valuable ft™ in co-ordinating the settlement 9 various districts, and thus preve™ the allotment scheme from being 9 plan merely for the isolated sett™ ment of individual families. With 19 advice of these farmers, and that9 the department, the settlers fo9 find they would nobbe-left entirely™ their own resources. 9 It was not to he expected that™ new settlers would become self-so™ porting immediately. The object ^9 first of all to provide them with hofl ing and to give them, say,9 eow, and a start in the growingH vegetables and other things. The® pert advice of the department's fifl inspectors- woirld he available to tt® as far as cultivation and other ari® ties on their properties were conce® ed, and as had been stated previo® ly, the settlers would probably ® it advantageous to work for nea® farmers in return for considerati® from them. 9 Leasing of Properties 9 Naturally there would not be cient gifts of land to cover all j® quirements, and the Government 7® going ahead with the selection of able properties which would be 1-9 ed. Provision would he made for® sustenance of men who could ® make a living from the start. L® case would he treated on its nieIj® for it was obvious that requirentf® would differ considerably. 9

The organisation had progi'6-^B more rapidly in the North Islani® though excellent work was being®® in the South Island. Final ments were being made at presew® talcing over a total of 70 allotrf® and negotiations were taking in for the requisition of many I^9 Numerous offers of good land^9 being made daily, and it was e$^B ed that from now on arrange®^9 would be made for the taldn? of about 60 allotments a week ^9 the most part the Government arranging for leases of from 10 years, but in a number of msta9| the farmers had offered the landl^H free for five or- 40 years. ^^9 Much organisation had y6''^® done, the Minister added, but j^B the progress made the future scheme as a whole showed gi'eaj«9 mise. If the Government tinue to secure co-operation °a ^9 scale already offered, its confi^® in the success of the project warrant it being pushed foiWat^9 til several thousand unemployea^9 ried men had been transferi'd '^9 the cities to the country. 9j