Land reform, commercial agriculture and local economic. The lessons from zimbabwe s land reform for its neighbors. Kinsey free university amsterdam, amsterdam, the netherlands university of zimbabwe, harare, zimbabwe summary. Zimbabwe s land issue has generated unprecedented debates both within and outside the country. Much of the scholarship of zimbabwe s land reform since 2000 has been deeply divided. This pdf is made available under a creative commons. Much of this land was previously cattle ranches, with limited. Speeding up the identification for compulsory acquisition of not less than. The fasttrack land reform and agrarian change in zimbabwe. But conditions were put on the way that the money handed over could be used. A small minority of white largescale commercial farmers owned and. The zimbabwean government will then at last be able to tackle the contentious and highly politicised land.
Zimbabwes land struggles and land rights in histori cal. The land reform in zimbabwe was organised in line with that slogan and had the following basic elements of speed, which made it to be known as the fast track land reform. Most commentary on zimbabwe s land reform insists that agricultural production has almost totally collapsed, that food insecurity is rife, that rural economies are in precipitous decline, that. Land reform is probably one of the most difficult domestic policy issues to be dealt with by zimbabwe, namibia, south africa and australia. Zimbabwe attained political independence in 1980 and embarked upon its land reform programme thereafter. This paper assesses the potential consequences of a land reform. The fast track land reform programme ftlrp in zimbabwe has been the focus of. Most commentary on zimbabwe s land reform insists that agricultural production has almost totally collapsed, that food insecurity is rife, that rural economies are in precipitous decline, that political cronies have taken over the land and that. Written by claudia irigoyen africa infrastructure economics and finance. These studies have reported an internal rate of return to the program that exceeds 20%. At independence, zimbabwe inherited a racially skewed distribution of land that excluded most. Evaluate the failures and or successes of land tenure reform in zimbabwe.
It begins with the premise that land policy, especially the fast track land reform. There is widespread agreement on the need for land reform in zimbabwe as a means of reducing poverty. The impact of land reform in zimbabwe on the conservation of cheetahs and other large carnivores thesis pdf available october 2011 with 8,018 reads how we measure reads. This is an issue which was present in zimbabwe during the early 2000s, when fears of genocide and ethnic cleansing were touted by local and international media outlets. Print and ebook editions of this work are available to zed. Pdf most commentary on zimbabwes land reform insists that agricultural production has almost totally collapsed, that food insecurity is rife, that. The debates, which followed the dramatic occupations of white farms by rural peasants in the late 1990s, are generally polarised between those who support radical land reform and those who support marketorientated reforms. This early land reform produced a rather feudal form of politics based on racial and class discrimination imposed on the african population by the british government and white rhodesians.
This policy allowed government to acquire, for compensation, land that it deemed. This study represents a first systematic effort to document zimbabweas new land uses during the years of economic crisis, the role of the state in promoting them, the differentiation associated with them, not only between black and white farmers, but also among them, and. A number of reforms were implemented over the years, with. Land reform and resettlement programme and implementation plan phase 2, published in april. Land has been a source of political conflict in zimbabwe since colonization, when.
Land reform in zimbabwe officially began in 1980 with the signing of the lancaster house. Land reform is a zimbabwe success story it will be the. It has led to zimbabwe s economic and social collapse. The government came up with new and revised land reform policy after 1990, passing the land acquisition act in 1992, which was supposed to speed up the land reform process through land designation and compulsory acquisition. The domino effect of the present land reform policy has resulted in zimbabwe s gdp shrinking by 4. Recent extensive land reform and agrarian change in zimbabwe exposes the myth that the land question in settler africa is not a primary contradiction of the national question, and that land reform can only be resolved through a liberal democratic transition of negotiated settlement under neoliberal land reform. A quantitative analysis of zimbabwes land reform policy core. The term land reform in zimbabwe mainly refers to the postcolonial period in which land redistribution is a major feature of government policy. Land reform in zimbabwe university of south africa.
Simultaneously, the famous lancaster house constitution expires. Overall impacts of fast track land reform programme. During the first and second phases of the land reform programme government pursued a narrowly defined land reform programme which focused solely on the in his ph. Zimbabwes land reform since 2000 has been intensely controversial. In this section, we zero in on masvingo province in the central south and east of the country.
Land, identity, and power global crisis solutions page 5 land segregation was institutionalized in the land apportionment act of 1930 which made it almost impossible for africans to buy land adjacent to white farms. World media demonised zimbabwe and the fasttrack land reforms which were initiated in 1999. Land reform in the twenty years after independence. Analysis and views on land reform and the land question in namibia and southern africa, 64 j hunter ed, 2004 viii harold green, south africa and zimbabwe. This in effect was the beginning of zimbabwe s land problem. An adapted version of this paper appears in the edited collection post independence land reform in zimbabwe, published in may 2004 by the friedrich ebert stiftung in harare. The dutch claimants in the case, bernardus henricus funnekotter and others v. Zimbabwes fast track land reform program ftlrp formally began with the land acquisition act of 2002. He has published widely and has contributed to many national, regional and international networks on land and agrarian reform issues. But 245,000 new farmers have received land, and most of them are farming it. In april 2009, a tribunal of the international centre for settlement of investment disputes icsid ordered the government of zimbabwe to compensate a group of dutch nationals whose farms were expropriated under zimbabwe s controversial land reform program. In this article it refers to the process of restructuring the distribution of land ownership rights particularly after independence in 1980.
Sam moyo published on 200001 by nordic africa institute. Land reform in zimbabwe has been highly controversial. Zimbabwe s land reform has not been neat, and huge problems remain. In the biggest land reform in africa, 6,000 white farmers have been replaced by 245,000 zimbabwean farmers. Land reform is a zimbabwe success story it will be the basis for economic recovery under mnangagwa november 29, 2017 9. The land and agrarian question in zimbabwe sam moyo this. Most coverage of zimbabwes land reform insists that agricultural production has almost totally collapsed, that food insecurity is rife, that rural economies are in. Land reform in zimbabwe free international relations and. Fast track land reform in zimbabwe centre for public. Land reform in zimbabwe has radically transformed the rural economy. Overturning the settler colonial pattern of land use and creating a new agrarian structure has had farreaching consequences.
The invasion of the largely whiteowned farms, accompanied by violent evictions and wholesale and wanton destruction and looting in 2000, led to a crisis between the judiciary and the executive that resulted in most of the judiciary being. This paper assesses the potential consequences of a land reform scheme that draws on proposals. A framework for discussion papers part of the zimbabwe land series dale dor april 10th, 2012 abstract this article sets the tone and lays out a framework for the presentation of a series of discussion papers on land policy in zimbabwe. In the analysis provided here, use is made of the cost estimates presented by these authors. Redistributive land reform and poverty reduction in zimbabwe. Zimbabwes land reform is common sense pambazuka news. The fasttrack land reform and agrarian change in zimbabwe zimbabwe s fast track land reform program ftlrp formally began with the land acquisition act of 2002. Zimbabwe, on one side of the spectrum, is facing a crisis in democratisation due to its radical approach to land reform. The following section then presents the settingcontext for understanding land reform and poverty reduction. In each of these countries the process of land reform is incomplete. A 1998 survey of farm workers in zimbabwe detailing their demographic, and skill, land access and viewpoints of land reform and redistribution is used to examine the very real constraints and the possibilities for poverty reduction among longstanding marginalized social groups in the ongoing fasttrack land resettlement in zimbabwe. Will zimbabwes economic downfall be repeated in south africa. The second phase of the land redistribution and resettlement programme in the form of the fast track land reform programme ftlrp, which started in 2000, has created an expanded number and array of small, medium and large scale farms, and effectively transferring ownership from the minority, white farmers to new indigenous farmers. Race gender and class in the government of commercial farm workers in hurunawe district.
Disparity between policy design and implementation medicine masiiwa institute of development studies university of zimbabwe may 2004 note. Anyone flying over zimbabwe on a clear day in the year 2000 would have seen huge differences in the farming regions, and perhaps better understood the countrys longstanding issue with land reform. The land reform and property rights in zimbabwe of 2010 is a sequel report to. Land reform in zimbabwe, 19801990 robin palmer introduction on 18 april 1990 zimbabwe celebrates the 10th anniversary of its independence. The zimbabwean government began its land reforms in the 1980s to address the imbalances in land access ownership and use that had existed in the country before independence. This replaced an agrarian structure that was divided between 4,500 largescale commercial farms and many small communal area farms. This website presents material linked to an ongoing research project in masvingo province in the southeast of the country.
Zimbabwe received financial assistance for land reform during the 1980s and 1990s from various governments. The paper begins with an ethical case for land redistribution in zimbabwe, based on principles of social justice and equity, drawing from a brief history of land in zimbabwe from the first european expulsions up to independence. The abuja signatories agreed that progress on land reform would depend on the implementation of all pillars of the abuja agreement. This is followed by the section that presents the framework for understanding poverty alleviation in the resettlement areas. Land reform under structural adjustment in zimbabwe pdf by. A critical analysis of the land reform programme in zimbabwe. In 2000, zimbabwe s government expropriated white farmers without compensation.
After 2000, around 145,000 families were allocated smallholder plots and a further 20,000 took on medium scale farms. This has involved a detailed study of what happened. Introduction at independence in 1980 zimbabwe inherited a highly skewed pattern of land distribution. His latest publication by zed books is biofuels, land grabbing and food.
188 51 1365 856 545 856 44 1505 69 306 948 545 104 1452 1135 1144 855 706 304 1052 711 1567 1011 699 446 1018 544 754 1044 20 619 848