SMALL FARMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 259, 3 November 1933, Page 2

SMALL FARMS.

PROGRESS TO DATE. 1410 UNEMPLOYED ABSORBED REPLY TO CRITICISM. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON", this day. Arresting details indicative of the substantial progress made by the Government with its small farms plan are contained in a comprehensive statement issued to-day by the Hon. E. A. Ransom, Minister of Lands, who is responsible for the administration of the legislation.

It is shown that 1410 unemployed have been placed in rural occupations, and that the board is developing 38 blocks, comprising 30,424 acres, which are estimated to provide 252 holdings. Negotiations are in train for the purchase of an additional 14 blocks, comprising 13,2il acres, calculated to give another 200 holdings. The subdivisions, which are mainly dairy farms, will not carry a total charge of more than £1200, except in a few case*;. Since the inauguration of the board the total authorisations represent a sum of £ 100,000. Auckland Acquisitions.

Replying to recent criticisms of the scheme, the Minister stated: — "It is somewhat ironical that most of the criticism has been in respect of the work of the Auckland lands officers, in whose district probably the greatest amount of small farm settlement work „is being carried out. Since June last, when the local committees were finally appointed, 131 properties, comprising over 62,000 acres, have been inspected, and of these 110 proved to be unsuitable. Of this latter number 21 were considered to be partly suitable, and protracted negotiations have followed in regard to price and area. At the moment negotiations are in train regarding the acquisition of 19 properties, • totalling 15,000 acres, while 22 properties, totalling 17,000 acres, are awaiting inspection by the committees. "I say definitely that these figures, when taken in conjunction with the number of men employed on development areas in the Auckland district, disprove any suggestion of lack of activity or of loyalty to the scheme on the part of the officers charged with the administration of the scheme in that district. In fact, the whole of the officers of the Department are inbited with a desire to make it a success, and it is only on account of peculiar difficulties that very little progress has been made in the southern districts." Progress Last Month.

The progress of the scheme to date was placed on record by the Minister in the following terms:— "My last public statement in regard to small farm settlement was made on September Ifi, when the progress made by the Small Farms Board was summarised as follows: Placed on individual holdings, 140 men; established as sharemilkers, 50 men; employed on land development, 300 men. Since then considerable progress has been made by the administration, and a report submitted to me to-day by the chairman of the

board, Mr. W. Robertson, shows: Placed on individual holdings, 179 men; established as sharemilkers, 50 men; employed on land development, 428 men, or a total of 637 unemployed men actually placed in reproductive work as a result of the present small farm plan. Under the previous small farm plan, which was administered by the Department of Agriculture, 753 men were placed on holdings, ranging from a few acres to fulltime farms, so that it can be claimed that as a result of the scheme, 1410 unemployed men have been placed in rural occupations. Developmental Work. "The work of developing land with a view to its subdivision later into small farms is the most important phase of the board's activities, and it i<s anticipated that by the end of January the number of men so employed will have increased from 428 to 1100.' This figure is conservative, being based on the blocks already acquired and set aside for the purposes of the scheme, but as in all probability several additional areas will be acquired in the meantime this figure is likely to be substantially exceeded.

"In my previous statement I enumerated ten blocks, totalling 12,200 acres, which the board has in hand for development into small farms; but the position to-day is that it is developing or is about to commence improvement work on 38 blocks, comprising 30,424 acres, which it is estimated wilf provide 282 holdings. At the present time negotiations are in train for the acquisition of an additional 14 blocks, comprising 13,211 acres, which if acquired will provide approximately 200 holdings. Recent Acquisitions.

"Some of the more recent acquisitions are as follow: Vaile's gift block, near Rotorua, 1000 acres; Vaughan's property, Hokianga, 1107; Puriri, Ltd.'s, Long's, and Brown's properties, Mangonui, 2898; Wilson's estate, "Ngatamahine, near Te Kuiti, 2426; Nelson and MeNicol's property, Motatau, Bay of Islands, 1760; Suominen's, Leach's, and Mackenzie's properties, Te Karae, Hokianga, 1513; Park's property, near Cambridge, 373; Karamu settlement, Hastings, 107; Gurr's property, Takaliue, SOS; Newman Bros.', Runaruna, Hokianga, 550; Ballard Estate, Takahue, 334; Fraser's property, near Whangarei, 271; Raikes' property, Pakaraka, Bay of Islands, 194; Mrs. Lodge's property, Awhitu, 942; Cruickshank's property, Otorohanga, 471; portions of several properties, Mairoa, near Te Kuiti, 1553; portions of sevei-al properties, Tutamoe, North Auckland, 1607; Steven's and Pratt's properties, Wlmrepapa, Te Awamutu, 710; Rait's property, near Te Kuiti, 1990. "In addition, a number of smaller properties have been acquired, and several Crown areas, notably in the Upper Rangitaiki district, Mangonui, lauranga, and Kaitieke counties, comprising over SOOO acres, have been set aside for the purposes of the scheme." Cost of Scheme. "It is difficult at this stage to supply figures which will give any indication of the cost of the scheme, but it can be stated that the aim of the board is to keep the total charge per holdino- at a minimum. For the most part the holdings will be dairy farms of a 25 to 35 cow capacity, and in very few cases will the total charge exceed £1200. Since the Small Farms Board was constituted in April last the total authorisations actually approved for the purchase and development of land and for building, stock, etc., amount to £160,000. This figure does not take into consideration the capital liability represented N by options to purchase in cases where land has been secured by way of lease, nor

does it include more than the first year's expenditure on improvements, buildings, etc. It has to be remembered that a large proportion of the areas being developed consist of what might be termed 'marginal' land, which under existing conditions could not be developed economically if it had to carry the whole of the improvement charges. The fact that the Unemployment Board has agreed to meet the cost of labour, which cost will not be a charge on the land, has enabled the Small Farms Board to undertake the improvement of many areas which otherwise could not be included in the scheme. As a clear indication of the board's policy to carry out the pian at a minimum cost to the taxpayer, the foilowing extract from one of its circulars addressed to district administrative officers will be of general interest:—"The | quality of the land should be such as to lend itself to subdivision into selfsupporting holdings, and it must be amply demonstrated how each subdivision can become a payable proposition without risk'of loss of State capital." Selection of Holdings.

"A good deal of confusion appears to exist as to the procedure to bo followed by applicants in obtaining a small farm, and it is desirable that the position be clarified. At the present time there are no sections available for general selection, and it is necessary for applicants to follow one of two courses:—(a) To obtain from an owner an option to purchase or to lease for a period of 10 years with the right of purchase, an area sufficient for the applicant's requirements, and to forward such option, together with a formal application, to the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the district concerned; or (b) to secure employment on one of the Department's development areas with a view to his ultimate selection for one of the holdings. Residential Qualification.

"As regards securing employment on development areas, where a man is resident within a provincial district in which there are development camps, he simply notifies the officer-in-cliarge of the Labour Department for that district of his desire to go into one of the camps, at the same time forwarding his application to the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the district. If a man is not resident within a district where camps are being established, he must first be approved by the Commissioner of Crown Lands for his district as being suitable for employment with the object of later obtaining a subdivision, and he should then see his local certifying ofißcer and advise him of his desire to be put into one of the camps in a specified district. The local certifying officer will then make all inquiries necessary as to vacancies, and will notify the applicant when and where he is to proceed.

"As a general rule men will not be transported at the Unemployment Board's expense further than 150 miles, but in the ease of transport within the North Island, the local certifying officer may arrange with the board to approve of expenses being paid beyond that distance. Applicants resident in the South Island may be placed in North Island camps if they can arrange for payment of their fares. It must be remembered that the small farms scheme is primarily intended to relieve the strain on the Unemployment Board's funds, and for this reason the board refuses to incur any large expense in transport. Co-operation Versus Criticism.

"I would like to take this opportunity of expressing the thanks of the Government to those gentlemen who as members of the statutory local committees and as local advisers are giving their time and the value of their knowledge and experience gratuitously in the administration of the small farm plan. These men appreciate the fact that the scheme is a national one, and that if it is administered on sound lines it will not only assist in alleviating the unemployment problem, but will also prove of permanent benefit t® the Dominion. The amount of work being carried out by these gentlemen, particularly those on the northern committees, is evidenced to some extent by the number of properties which have been acquired in the Auckland province. But what is not apparent is the number of inspections made by these committees of properties | which are placed under offer and which are not acquired. It is estimated by one district administrative officer that 80 per cent of the properties inspected prove to be unsuitable, or are offered at prices greatly in excess of their value. "In sharp contrast to the work of the Department's advisers is the critic of the scheme who, through the channel of newspapers, deplores apologist statements by the Minister, denounces the delay, accuses the officers of deliberate ineptitude or of incompetence, refers to the 'disease of officialdom,' and generally sets himself out to kill public confidence in the administration of the scheme. He takes no cognisance of the time required for inspections, protracted negotiations, clearance of titles and other legal difficulties and formalities. He judges the whole scheme from the vantage point of his own armchair, and if properties are not being acquired in a wholesale manner in his own immediate district he avers that the scheme has been a deplorable failure. The South Island.

"Apart from the settlement of a number of men on individual holdings, it has not yet been found possible to prosecute small farm settlement to any extent in the South Island. This is no doubt due to the following facts: — (1) There are practically no areas of suitable unoccupied Crown land available; (2) the better class lands suitable for small farm settlement are, generally speaking, comparatively closely occupied; (3) the agricultural and dairying land is for the most part highly "improved, and, therefore, the establishment charges per settler for full-time farms would be very much higher than in the North Island; and (4) the prices at which properties have been offered have been so much in excess of valuation that it has not been possible for the committees or the board to recommend their acquisition.

"However, it is recognised by the Small Farms Board that the scheme cannot be confined to the North Island, and arrangements have been made for the chairman to proceed to the South to discuss the position with the chairmen of the several local committees."