MOBILE UNITS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22129, 18 September 1946, Page 4

MOBILE UNITS

PLANTING POLICY SUBSIDIES TO FARMERS WORK FOR NEXT SEASON Reporting to yesterday’s meeting of the Poverty Bay Catchment Board on the work of the past month, the board’s engineer, Mr. A. D. Todd, stated that applications for assistance from the mobile works unit for tree-planting had reached a total of 19. Of these, 1G already had been the subject of inspections and nine had been approved. The total value of the approved applications was £ll6O, and four of the projects had been completed. “Up to the present there have been three gangs in the field, but the gang which lias been operating in the Ngatapa area is about to be disbanded, only one man being available for further work,” the engineer continued. "The other two gangs, each comprising four men (on the average), are composed of Maoris who are showing aptitude for this type of work. The planting season being nearly over, the work at present largely consists of dam construction for gully control. ‘•Schemes of work arc in course of preparation for three jobs, and six more can bo prepared as soon as the survey is completed,” Tree-planting Scheme

The report also referred to the conservation tree-planting scheme, under which a £1 for Cl subsidy was available for approved projects. A total of 23 applications had been received, and 25 inspections made. 25 of the projects being approved and involving a total of £1641.

“Taking into account the late start made with this scheme, a satisfactory number of applications was dealt with during the limited period remaining of the current planting season,” added Mr. Todd. “In the majority of cases applicants expressed their intention to carry out similar work in the future, and it will be necessary to encourage farmers to apply during the summer months, so that inspections can be made and approval given in good time.” The report was adopted, and in the discussion on its contents Mr. G. M. Newman stated ihat the £1 for £1 subsidy on tree-planting schemes was of particular value to land-owners, and he fully agreed that everything possible should be done to get the applications in hand for next season’s work.

The acting chairman, Mr. E. _W. McEnnis, agreed with this suggestion, and pointed out that the actual works completed would be a helpful source of publicity for the scheme. Moreover, personal contacts between board members and individual land-owners undoubtedly would give good results.