AGRICULTURAL LAND - TO SELL OR NOT TO SELL

At the time of writing this blog....it is also the season of the Haj.
Insyaallah my wife and I will also be heading to Mekah to perform our Haj too in a few days time.
For all Muslim...this is one of the epic moments of our life that needs to be fulfilled.
Some who can afford will be able to do so with a minimum of fuss (albeit that he be INVITED by ALLAH).
Cost of performing Haj has increased many folds over the years so it is further expected that the cost to do the Haj will even be more costlier.
What will happen to the poorer people. What will happen to the farmers with meager earnings every year. To them to perform the Haj is one of the primary tenets of their life. Whatever may happen they MUST perform the Haj....even if they have to sell their land. This is the simple thoughts of the man in the field.

The question is who will they sell it to ?
Can another Malay buy the land from him ?
Is it a fair price that he will get in order for him to go to Mekah ?
When he comes back from Haj....what will be of him ?
Land has been sold, money is gone !!!
Will he be another piece of data in the subsidy line ?

In my earlier blog I mentioned about having an entity of land bank in the form of a company or a cooperative or the likes.
This is where the farmer will have a share in the entity, equitable to the size of his land in the whole setup.
If the farmer needs the money to perform the Haj for example....he can pledge his portion of the land to Agro Bank and the land will be in the hands of the bank. The farmer can perform the Haj and come back after the Haj and the land is still his only that it is being held and lodge with the bank. The yield and the income derived from the business from the land will be diverted to his account with the bank to repay his Haj loan. After covering all the loan the title of the land will be return to the rightful owner but in trust still with the company/cooperative (being the entity).

In this way the farmer will return home knowing that he still own the land. And he have the opportunity to pay back from the returns derived from the crop yield.
This is also the way to save the land from changing hands and more important that the land remains to be cultivated.