[El Universal] As part of its policy to seize and occupy agricultural lands, the Venezuelan government plans to seize some 450,000 hectares of lands (1,111,974 acres) in 2011, said Yvan Gil, the Vice Minister of Agroproductive Circuits, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (MAT). The ministry's budget includes VEB 17.9 billion (USD 4.16 billion) to seize lands. The Executive Office told the National Assembly's Committee on Finance that ever since the Law on Lands became effective, Venezuelan authorities have seized 3 million hectares, while other 14.1 million hectares have been duly legalized.
Delays on land-use certificates
Vice Minister Gil acknowledged that after the Ministry of the Interior and Justice prevented the public record of transactions involving agricultural farms in the absence of land-use certificates, there have been bottlenecks in the issuance of this document. "We expect to speed up paperwork, to accelerate the process," Gil added.