Land reform as a means of poverty alleviation and inequality redress in Mashonaland Central, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This thesis set out to assess the impact of the land reform program on two farms located in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe, Tembo and Rutherdale, and to examine how the livelihoods of resettled farmers from this area evolved. Since 2000, the debate surrounding Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Land Reform Programme and the implications thereof on smallholder livelihoods, has been heated and polarised. There is therefore need for empirically based studies to help quell the debate.

A qualitative case study design was adopted for this research. The study sites were Tembo and Rutherdale, farms in Mashonaland Central province of Zimbabwe. The farms are about six kilometres from Shamva gold mine and have thirteen A1 farms and thirty-four A2 farms. The study participants consisted of the resettled farmers in the two farms. Key informants such as the agricultural extension and the agribusiness officers for the area and the village headmen provided information for the study. Semi-structured interviews were the main data collection instruments and these were supplemented through literature and document analysis.

This study found that the land reform programme for Tembo and Rutherdale farms largely benefited the beneficiaries of the scheme. The resettled farmers in the area live in harmony with each other and have developed social networks to tackle their challenges. Access to Land allowed farmers to improve in income generation. There is, however need for further government support and intervention with the intent to make the farmers more self-sufficient. The government could also come in as a facilitator to initiatives by the households themselves to solve their challenges.

This research suggests that other successful land reform programmes in other parts of the country be unveiled and studied so that the underlying principles behind their successes or failures are unearthed to quell the debate on the impacts of the land reform programme in the country.