Land Rights in Zimbabwe- Ali O’Hara

Executive Summary:

Land grabbing is a long-standing issue in Zimbabwe, a country in southern Africa. Originally, white settlers from England displaced many native Zimbabwean farmers from the best land in the country. However, when land redistribution began in the early 1980s, President Robert Mugabe further perpetuated the issue. Mugabe used the land as a form of patronage–giving the land rights to the elites– to further his political and personal agenda under the guise of land redistribution for the Zimbabwean peasantry. As the incumbent President, he continues these poor practices.

Commercial agricultural originally was Zimbabwe’s largest private employer; however, since 1980 farms have become highly inefficient and have degraded. Farm land has increasingly become unproductive because new farm owners either do not want to farm, do not know how to effectively farm or do not have the capital to sustain the production. This guise of land reform has lead to a collapsed economy, a food crisis and rampant poverty in Zimbabwe. Over one million people are in poverty and hunger in Zimbabwe.

To begin to solve this problem in Zimbabwe, it is necessary for us to empower the peasant Zimbabwean farmers who do hold land titles. This empowerment begins with adequate funding, local farming knowledge and irrigation. By improving the economic well-being of the peasantry, their ability to participate in their government simultaneously improves. Hence, this increased political participation will decrease the corruption and the patronage and collectively improve land rights for the peasantry.

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