Agricultural Land Management for Sustainable Production in Swaziland

Abstract

The Kingdom of Swaziland lies between latitudes 25 44 and 27 19 South and longitudes 30 47 and 32 07 East. The longest distance from north to south is 194 km. and from east to west is 145 km. Its area is 17,360 km sq. Table 1 shows the major characteristics of the four ecological zones and how relief, soils and rainfall affect the resource potential of these ecological zones. Apparently, there are two contradictory environmental management trends in Swaziland which, if not checked, can lead to a major crisis in resource use and affect drastically the sustainability of agricultural production. First, the size of the country is relatively small (17, 360 km sq.) and according to 19998 figures is inhabited by approximately 950,000 people. Land tenure is such that only 52% of the land is available to smallholder farms (Swazi Nation Land — SNL) inhabited by 70% of the population. It is estimated that 47% of the land is owned by 8 % of the populations with large-scale individual farms (ITF). Second, land use is ill planned or allocated to inappropriate uses coupled with the lack of land capability assessment measures to ensure long-term investments in land management.