The Minister of Agriculture Luis Ramon Rodriguez has announced that President Danilo Medina ordered all state-owned land in rural areas to be transferred from the various state organizations to the Dominican Agrarian Institute (IAD) so that titles can be issued in the names of the beneficiaries.

He said that much of the country's rural and urban poverty is the result of problems with property titles and nothing has been done during previous government administrations.

He pointed out that according to a recent study there are 1,800,000 plots of urban land without titles and 1,600,000 in rural areas, also without titles. During his election campaign, the President suggested that this needed to be tackled.

He said that there are two types of people without titles. The first are famers whose land was either originally owned by the state or private individuals. In their cases Medina has said the land should be immediately transferred to the IAD to issue to title in the names of the farmers concerned.

On the other hand there are those state lands that first need to be surveyed (deslinde procedure) and divided up before the titles can be transferred.

Rodriguez said that in order for this to work more land magistrates were needed in the land tribunals, along with more surveyors and other staff.

www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2012/9/24/447780/En-el-pais-hay-un-millon-800-mil-solares-urbanos-y-un-millon-600-mil

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