DELIVERING LAND AND SECURING RURAL LIVELIHOODS: POST-INDEPENDENCE LAND REFORM AND RESETTLEMENT IN ZIMBABWE EDITED BY MICHAEL ROTH and FRANCIS GONESE Centre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison June 2003 i This volume was made possible in part through support provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of USAID/ZIMBABWE CA 690-A-00-99-00270-00. The Land Tenure Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Centre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe provide technical assistance, training, capacity building, and research in support of Zimbabwe’s Land Reform and Resettlement Program II. Project website: http://www.wisc.edu/ltc/zimpfl.html All views, interpretations, recommendations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the supporting or co-operating organisations. Copyright © by CASS and LTC. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. ii Contents Page Acknowledgements vii Acronyms viii Preface ix Relief map of Zimbabwe xi SECTION ONE: AGRARIAN CONTRACTS 1 —Chapter 1— Rural Landlords, Rural Tenants, and the Sharecropping Complex in Gokwe, North-western Zimbabwe, 1980s-2002 3 1. Introduction 3 2. Common Misconceptions about Sharecropping 4 3. Influx of in-migrants into Gokwe Villages, 1950s-1990s 5 4. The Harvest of Independence: Cotton Boom in Gokwe villages 8 5. Sharecropping in Gokwe Villages 10 6. Conclusions and Recommendations 18 References 20 —Chapter 2— Rezoned for Business 23 1. Introduction 23 2. Campfire Thought 25 3. Pioneers in Improbable Places 31 References 38 —Chapter 3— Resettlement and Contract Farming in Zimbabwe 43 1. Introduction 43 2. Mushandike Resettlement: Background 44 3. Banners and Contract Farming 46 4. The Nature of Contract 48 5. Surveillance and Control 50 6. Peasant Views 52 7. Conclusion 53 References 54 —Chapter 4— Green Harvest 57 1. Introduction 57 2. Tea production in Zimbabwe: Background 58 3. Tea Production in Zimbabwe: Practice 61 4. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations 77 References 80 —PERSPECTIVES— AGRARIAN CONTRACTS 81 The Complexities of Agrarian reform 81 Leasing and Sharecropping Contracts for Increasing Beneficiary Access to Land 84 Role of Private Land Markets in Delivering Land and Beneficiary Support Services 86 1. Historical Overview of the Land Question 86 2. The Private Sector in the Land Reform Debate 87 3. Land Market Reform 87 4. Conclusion 88 SECTION TWO: LAND REDISTRIBUTION THROUGH PRIVATE LAND MARKETS 89 —Chapter 5— Subdivision Policy and Informal Subdivisions 91 1. Introduction 91 2. Subdivision (Theoretical Benefits) 92 3. Legal and Economic Viability Constraints on Subdivision in Zimbabwe 97 4. Subdivision and Consolidation of Agricultural Land in Practice 105 5. Conclusions and Policy Implications 112 References 114 —Chapter 6— Land Redistribution in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 117 1. Introduction 118 iii 2. Land Reform Instruments in South Africa 119 3. Public and Private Land Redistribution in KwaZulu-Natal 126 4. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations 134 References 136 —Chapter 7— Government-assisted and Market-driven Land Reform 139 1. Introduction 140 2. Agrarian Structure 140 3. Legal and Regulatory Framework 144 4. Data Sources and Methodology 150 5. Private Land Market Redistribution 151 6. Public Land Market 158 7. Analysis and Concluding Comments 161 References 164 Annex A. Gender Characteristics, Advantaged 167 —Chapter 8— Seeking Women Land Owners and Ownership in Zimbabwe 169 1. Introduction 169 2. Background 170 3. Methodology and Field Work 174 4. A New Typology 177 5. Typology Description 179 6. Case Study Themes 183 7. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations 185 References 187 —PERSPECTIVES— LAND REDISTRIBUTION THROUGH PRIVATE LAND MARKETS 189 Role of Private Land Markets in Financing and Accelerating Agricultural Growth 189 1. Background 189 2. Land Policy 190 3. Role of Private Land Markets 190 4. Conclusion 192 Land Reform, Land Markets and Financial Capitalisation of Agriculture 193 1. Background 193 2. Tenure Security and Collateralisation 193 3. Institutional Capacity 195 4. Conclusion 196 A Practitioner’s Perspective on the Regulation of the Subdivision of Land held Under Title 197 1. Introduction 197 2. Rationale for Subdivision Regulation 197 3. Legislative and Institutional Framework 199 4. Trends 200 5. Observations and Conclusions 201 SECTION THREE: RESETTLEMENT AND BENEFICIARY SUPPORT 203 —Chapter 9— Beneficiary Selection, Infrastructure Provision and Beneficiary Support 205 I. Introduction 205 2. Beneficiary Selection 209 3. Infrastructural Development and Beneficiary Support 220 4. Emerging Issues for Policy Consideration 230 References 234 —Chapter 10— Comparative Economic Performance of Zimbabwe’s Resettlement Models 236 1. Introduction 236 2. ‘Overall’ Performance 237 3. Agricultural Performance 252 4. Conclusion 259 References 262 —Chapter 11— The Fast Track Resettlement and Urban Development Nexus 265 1. Introduction and Context of the Study 265 2. Policy Framework for Urban and Peri-Urban Development in Zimbabwe 267 3. Concluding Remarks 281 References 282 iv —Chapter 12— Water Reform in Zimbabwe 287 1. Introduction 288 2. The Water Reform Process 289 3. Land Reform and Resettlement 297 4. Water Utilisation and Land Reform 300 5. Interfaces of the two Reforms 302 6. Policy Implications and Conclusions 305 References 306 —Chapter 13— An Analysis of Institutional and Organisational Issues on Fast Track Resettlement 309 1. Executive Summary 309 2. Research Results 313 3. Conclusions 320 References 321 —PERSPECTIVES— RESETTLEMENT AND BENEFICIARY SUPPORT 323 Settlement and Resettlement Models in Zimbabwe 323 1. Pre-independence (1890-1980) 323 2. Phase 1 Resettlement Programme (1980–1998) 324 3. Phase II Resettlement Programme 326 4. Observations on Land Reform and Resettlement 327 5. Support to the Farming Sector 327 Beneficiary Selection and Infrastructure Provision in Resettlement Areas 329 1. Settler Selection and Planning 329 2. Infrastructure Planning and Development 330 3. Conclusions 330 Supporting Resettled Farmers: The Experiences of the Zvishavane Water Project 331 1. Introduction 331 2. Work in Resettlement Schemes 331 3. Problems Encountered by Farmers 332 4. Projects Supported by ZWP 332 5. Suggestions for the Future 333 Farmworkers: The Missing Class in Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Resettlement 334 1. Introduction 334 2. Farmworkers and Land Rights 335 3. Current Realities 335 3. Conclusion 337 References 337 Delivery of Land Services to Land Reform Beneficiaries 339 1. Introduction 339 2. Services and Infrastructure to Support Production 339 3. Credit Services 340 4. Research and Extension Services 340 5. Environmentally Sustainable Land Use 340 6. Assessment 340 7. Conclusion 341 SECTION FOUR: LAND ADMINISTRATION AND DECENTRALISATION 343 —Chapter 14— Devolution for Land Administration in Zimbabwe 345 1. Introduction 345 2. Devolution in Theory 347 3. International Experience with Devolution 350 4. Perspective from the Field: Masvingo Province 357 5. Conclusion—Devolution for Land Administration: Opportunities and Challenges 359 References 361 —Chapter 15— Administration by Consensus 365 1. Introduction and background 365 2. Research Findings 367 3. Demand-side Analysis 373 v 4. Discussion 377 5. Conclusion 380 References 381 —Chapter 16— Whose Land Is It Anyway? 383 1. Introduction 383 2. Why a devolved institutional structure for land administration? 384 3. Conceiving a Devolved Land Administration Structure 390 4. Framework for a Capacity-building Plan 398 References 400 —Chapter 17— Designing a Land Information System for Rural Land Use Planning 403 1. Introduction 403 2. Methods 405 3. Findings 406 4. Recommendations 417 References 420 —PERSPECTIVES— LAND ADMINISTRATION AND DECENTRALISATION 421 Delivery of Extension Services to Land Reform Beneficiaries 421 The Challenge of Bringing Effective Governance in the Administration of Land and Land Rights in Zimbabwe 427 1. Introduction 427 2. Review of Current Debate and Policy Recommendations 427 3. Principles and Values Agreed at Inception of the Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe 428 4. Challenges of Sustainable Institutional Development in Zimbabwe 429 5. Conclusion 432 References 432 Rural District Councils: Need for Decentralisation and Capacity Strengthening to Deepen Agrarian Reform 433 1. Introduction 433 2. RDC Involvement in the Land Reform Process 433 3. Strategies for Moving Forward 434 Agrarian Reform and Rural Development: Strategies for Moving Forward 437 SECTION FIVE: THE WAY FORWARD 439 —Chapter 18— Strategies for Agrarian Reform in Zimbabwe 441 1. Introduction 441 2. Guiding Principles for the Way Forward 442 3. Broad Strategies for the Way Forward 444 4. Putting the Small-scale Farmer First in a Process-oriented Reform 447 References 455 —Chapter 19— Delivering Land and Securing Rural Livelihoods 457 1. Introduction 457 2. Incoherencies 457 3. Trust 459 4. Transition? 461 5. Policy Path for Moving Forward? 463 6. Community-led Land Development 469 7. Chronology 471 8. Conclusions 472 References 472 vi A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii A CRONYMS AFC Agricultural Finance Corporation GMB Grain Marketing Board AGRITEX Agricultural and Technical LAMA Legal Age of Majority Act Extension Services Land/Geographic Information System, (LIS/GIS) AMS Alternative