Land reform in Zimbabwe

Thomas, Neil

doi:10.1080/0143659032000105821

Cited by 28 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In the LRRP, farms from absent land lords, underutilised farms and those owned by farmers with more than one property were identified for redistribution at low compensation. The international donor community and the UK government did not support the new approach and without external support for internal spending the Zimbabwean economy collapsed (Thomas 2010). While a number of factors outlined in the lead up to the macro-economic collapse after 1990 seem technical in nature, they cannot be separated from the country's politics, as was the case in Kenya (Harbeson 1971).…”

Section: The Land Reform and Resettlement Programme (Lrrp) Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2011) presents a sophisticated comparative study of Zimbabwe and Kenya's land reform projects. The study illustrates that like in Kenya as well as in South Africa, the land reform process in Zimbabwe had a number of phases with different approaches and objectives stemming from slow progress made and political factors as described by Moyo (1986); Kinsey (1999); Thomas (2010) and others. At independence Zimbabwe, like Kenya and South Africa, inherited high inequalities with respect to land redistribution along racial lines.…”

Section: An Overview Of the Land Reform Process In Zimbabwementioning

confidence: 99%

“…White commercial farmers occupied 15.5 of 33.2 million hectares of land while black smallholders occupied only 1.6 million hectares, and the rest was occupied by 750 000 subsistence households. Thomas (2010) reports that the average farm sizes of commercial black farmers were a maximum of 20 hectares while those of white farms were as large as 3000 hectares. These are the extents of land inequalities that most African governments have had to contend with after independence.…”

Section: An Overview Of the Land Reform Process In Zimbabwementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ninety per cent of schemes had farm sizes of around 6-7 hectares leased to individual farmers, and only 10% were 2.While all Zimbabwean experiences (positive and negative) are useful for South Africa to learn from, it also appears that most of the positive experiences for potential policy emulation are those experienced before 1990 in Zimbabwe. Moyo (1986,2000) and Thomas (2010) reported on some of the internal political factors that led to failures in the resettlement programmes after 1990. The factors included a lack of willingness to sell by white farmers stemming from burgeoning land prices as well as measures to contain an increasing budget deficit by fiscal policy.…”

Section: The Land Reform and Resettlement Programme (Lrrp) Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The UK would fund 50% of black farmer settlement costs. Compulsory purchases would only be affected where land was underutilised by current owners (Thomas 2010).…”

Section: The Land Reform and Resettlement Programme (Lrrp) Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How to understand, evaluate and influence efficient progress in South Africa’s land reform process: A typology from historical lessons from selected sub-Saharan African countries

Mbatha

2017

SAJEMS

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Background: With reports of widespread failures in South Africa’s land reform programmes, the levels of policy uncertainty in the political rhetoric that influences land reform have been increasing. Since 1994 policy targets to transfer land to black farmers have not been met. Of the 2005 target to transfer about 25 million ha of commercial farmland to black farmers by 2014, less than 5 million ha. have been transferred for commercial use. Some studies report failure rates in resettlement projects of up to 90%. To account for the failures, revisions of policies and amendments to legislations have been proposed within a political environment that is becoming increasingly intolerant to slow progress in land transfers and to resettlement failures.Aim: Against this environment, this paper presents a typology for understanding and evaluating important elements of the land reform project in order to influence progress in the process.Setting: The study adopts a historical review of land reform processes in post-colonial Kenya and Zimbabwe in order to identify potential challenges and key lessons for South Africa.Methods: Hence, using institutional and historical analytical lenses in exploring different narratives, the paper reviews reported failures and successes in land reform policy cases from the selected countries. From an institutional framework, prevalent social institutions and key lessons from Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa, a typology for evaluating important elements of the land reform process in South Africa is developed and discussed. Additionally, a review of global data collected on average sizes of farms in different regions of the world is provided as evidence to support propositions of what would constitute efficient farmland size ranges for small to medium commercial farms in South Africa.Results and conclusion: A proposition is made on how to use the typology to guide policy and research interventions to reduce failures and promote successful cases in different areas of the land reform process in South Africa, and possibly other similar contexts.

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Section: The Land Reform and Resettlement Programme (Lrrp) Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: An Overview Of the Land Reform Process In Zimbabwementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: An Overview Of the Land Reform Process In Zimbabwementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Land Reform and Resettlement Programme (Lrrp) Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The UK would fund 50% of black farmer settlement costs. Compulsory purchases would only be affected where land was underutilised by current owners (Thomas 2010).…”

Section: The Land Reform and Resettlement Programme (Lrrp) Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations