Addressing Barriers to Land Investment and Productivity Enhancement in Zimbabwe: Some Critical Reflections
Keywords:
post-coloniality, post-land reform, Government, securitisation, Underutilisation, small grainsAbstract
The study explores policies and practices that address barriers to land investment and productivity enhancement in Zimbabwe after the land reform. Post-colonial Zimbabwe has been marred by the land question from its inception as land was one of the reasons for the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe. There is a missing link in the post-land reform era, that is, the lack of land investment and productivity enhancement which has caused underutilisation of land and led to food insecurity due to lack of productivity enhancement. Hence, policies and practices that address land investment and enhance productivity in Zimbabwe become important for this study. The study uses a qualitative research methodology with a case study design. The study reveals that the regularisation of land tenure security through SI 53 of 2014 improved land investment due to minimisation of land invasions. The study shows that there has been the adoption of small grains to enhance productivity through climate-smart agriculture, while reducing crop failures. The study concludes that the land question in Zimbabwe remains unanswered, with the government shifting goal posts on land ownership. The study recommends the reduction of evictions without compensation and land tenure security for farmers to increase their land investment with the guarantee of compensation.