Academic literature on the topic 'Land resettlement – Zimbabwe – Masvingo Province'

ABSTRACTThe emergence of medium-scale farms is having important consequences for agricultural commercialisation across Africa. This article examines the role of medium-scale A2 farms allocated following Zimbabwe's land reform after 2000. While the existing literature focuses on changing farm size distributions, this article investigates processes of social differentiation across medium-scale farms, based on qualitative-quantitative studies in two contrasting sites (Mvurwi and Masvingo-Gutu). Diverse processes of accumulation are identified across commercial, aspiring and struggling farmers, and linked to contrasting patterns of agricultural production and sale, asset ownership, employment and finance. The ability to mobilise finance, influenced by the state of the macro-economy, as well as forms of political patronage, is identified as a crucial driver. Contrary to assertions that A2 farms are largely occupied by ‘cronies’ and that they are unproductive and under-utilised, a more differentiated picture emerges, with important implications for policy and the wider politics of Zimbabwe's countryside following land reform.

The study investigated the major determinants of married women’s land rights under the fast track land reform programme, 2000-2002 in A1 resettlement areas in Zimbabwe using econometric analysis on national baseline survey. Case data collected in Goromonzi District through in-depth interviews, direct observations and documentary reviews were used to complement results from the econometric model. Although the focus was on women beneficiaries of the fast track land reform programme, the study adopted a gender approach to study both men and women. The study revealed that extra-household factors such as the method used to make beneficiaries aware about the fast track land reform programme, the size of arable area cultivated and provincial differentials of male and female beneficiaries determined the probability of women’s land holding. This meant that social assets were a strong determinant of women’s land rights and hence the socio-political environment should not be ignored when analysing the distribution of land under the fast track land reform programme. The study recommended that individual level asset ownership data should be collected in order to evaluate and understand how benefits of development programmes are shared between men and women and that allocation of land under the land reform programme should focus on individuals within households. Methods should be devised to inform women about their land rights and the avenues through which these rights can be enforced. A study of each province would be required to unravel the underlying factors for the differential land distribution patterns by sex in provinces.

Soil erosion which manifests itself in the form of gullies, rills and sheet wash is animmensely complicated process involving the interaction of many biological, social,economic, environmental and political factors. It varies in its occurrence bothspatially and temporally. The ultimate result of soil erosion is that it reduces cropyields and ruins agriculture, though the exact extent of soil erosion and landdegradation is not known.The study was carried out in Masvingo Province, ZakaDistrict, Ward 5 with 4502 households using the questionnaire survey, interviewand field observations as research methods. The study established that populationpressure ( people and livestock), as evidenced by, cultivation of steep slopes,stream bank cultivation, deforestation and overstocking are major problems .Fromthe results, it emerged that people continue to compound the problem by settlingand extending farmlands on steep slopes, stream banks, grazing land and dambos/veils. Therefore, there is need to educate people on conservation, proper tillage,proper or correct stocking rates, develop a proper land tenure system and avoidingland degradation. There are patches of abandoned land on account of failure tosupport crops or grazing. This means that there is need for soil conservationmeasures to be instituted so as to save the soil from further deterioration. This isnot to say nothing has been done before, rather it is the enormity of the problemthat dictates that form and decisive action needs be taken sooner rather than latter.Measures which have been implemented are fragmented and seem to have metwith very limited, if at all any, success so there might be need to revisit both theapproach ,methods, techniques and strategies which have been tried hitherto witha view to blend them with the yet untried and untested methods.

AbstractAcross Africa there has been a growth in medium-sized farms, including in Zimbabwe following the land reform of 2000. What are the prospects of such farms driving new forms of agricultural commercialization? In this article we seek to learn lessons from the past by examining the experience of ‘native purchase areas’, which were established from the 1930s in Zimbabwe. Through a detailed historical study of Mushagashe small-scale commercial farming area in Masvingo Province, the article explores the changing fortunes of farms over time. Historical information is complemented by a survey of twenty-six randomly selected farms, examining patterns of production, asset ownership and accumulation. In-depth interviews explore life histories and changes in social arrangements that have influenced agrarian change. Four broad farm types are identified, including those that are commercialized, projectized, villagized, and held or abandoned. These categories are not static, however, and the article emphasizes non-linear patterns of change. Following Sara Berry, we show how pathways of commercialization are diverse and unpredictable, influenced by interlocking conjunctures of social dynamics, generational changes and political-economic conditions. Commercialization outcomes are dependent on the intersection of relational dynamics and more structural, political economy factors. Bursts of commercialization on these farms are contingent on access to employment by farm owners, labour (hired, squatters and offspring) and, perhaps above all, money to invest. The much-hyped policy vision of a new medium-scale commercial farm sector emerging in Africa therefore must be qualified, and divergent outcomes recognized.

Thesis (M.A. (Sociology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014
The problem investigated in this study relates to the socio-economic outcomes that the Fast-Track Land Redistribution Programme (FTLRP) produced. The study focused on the voices of the newly resettled farmers because the socio-economic outcomes of the FTLRP have been analyzed at a high level (government, NGOs and international organisations), thus ignoring the voice of the people at the grassroots. For example, scholars like Moyo (2004) asserted that the land question has generated a lot of emotional debate and there is a general consensus that it represents the dimension to the crisis the country is going through. On the other hand according to Mukamuri (2000) land is a very crucial factor in the eradication of insecurity and rural poverty. The study focused on the socio-economic outcomes of the Fast-Track Land Redistribution Programme (FTLRP) in Kippure-lram Resettlement Scheme, Masvingo province, Zimbabwe. The research employed qualitative research methods which were descriptive. The population of the study was constituted by the beneficiaries of the Kippure-lram Resettlement Scheme. Data collection in this study was done through the use of focus group discussions and secondary data was collected from government (Zimbabwean Government, 2003 and 2005), NGOs (FAO, 2003), international organisations (Oxfam International, 2002 and 2003) and literature from various scholars. The population comprised of all the newly resettled farmers of the Kippure-lram Resettlement scheme. Thirty (30) out of forty (40) respondents were interviewed and the researcher made use of non-probability sampling, which was purposive. Ten (10) of the farmers were not interviewed because they were not true representation of the beneficiaries of the FTLRP because they were not active in the programme. iii The researcher divided the participants into five groups. Each group had six participants. Each group of participants was interviewed on three different sessions; each session had its own thematic question. Totally, fifteen sessions were conducted during the focus group discussions. The discussions were carried out at Kippure-Iram Resettlement Scheme from the 10th to 15th of December 2010. Each session of the interviews lasted for two hours. The researcher made use of pseudo names during the interviews, a way of protecting the identity of the participants. Analysis of data in this study was carried out through the use of content analysis. Seventy-six percent (76%) of the participants observed that the FTLRP’s outcomes in Kippure-Iram Resettlement Scheme were positive to a larger extent, mainly because they can now practise various farming projects to earn a living on their new land and the programme has managed to distribute land to its rightful owners. On the other hand, twenty-four per-cent (24%)) of the participants indicated that the results of the FTLRP were negative because after the FTLRP they were left unemployed.

Social relations are valued by many in rural settings as they provide strong sources of social support among rural households. Barr (2004) and Dekker (2004a) indicate that such strong social relations exist mainly in small villages where kin and family members stay close to each other. They both highlight the importance of kin networks for most rural families to strengthen their social capital and resource-pooling strategies. Through strong and reliable social networks, people can work together for a common good and improve their well-being. It is therefore important for rural households to live close by their kin and friends so that they can pool resources and help each other in times of need. However, following land reform in Zimbabwe, many people left their communal homes and moved to the resettlement areas. These movements impacted on family structures, social networks as well as the livelihood strategies that were established in the communal areas over the years. This study investigates how the movement to resettlement areas has affected the day-to-day lives of the resettled families. This question is explored through a case study of resettled households at Dellos farm, in the Felixburg resettlement area in Zimbabwe. Given that their existing social networks were disrupted with the resettlement at Dellos farm, households established new social networks which they now rely on in their daily lives. Although these new networks are not based on kinship, which is regarded as a strong source of social support, they have proven to have great influence on people’s livelihoods at the farm. Regardless of the limited support households received from the government and other institutions, their social networks allowed them to improve their livelihoods and in turn improve their social and economic status.
Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.