Farmers unions have welcomed the changes to the country’s land tenure system that were announced by the government on Tuesday.
Under the reformed system, beneficiaries of the land reform programme will now receive a bankable, registrable, and transferable document of tenure from the government.
The government said that these adjustments will unlock the full value of the land and boost the country’s overall economic performance.
In an interview with <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/land-tenure-overhaul-heralds-new-era-for-farmers/">The Herald</a>, the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) Secretary General said the new model will enable farmers to access capital from financial institutions. Said Zakariya:
<blockquote>
I think this settles a matter that has been long outstanding, the need for farmlands to be used as security for all agricultural borrowings or for borrowings related to farm development, including agricultural production.
So, over the last two decades, farmers were securing loans using properties outside the farmlands and that was not sustainable.
Number one, because of the size of the borrowings for instance, if you are using a house, that house would not secure a long-term asset.
So, before, the values were very low, because the assets outside the farms were also not carrying so much, you can imagine someone using their house in Budiriro to develop a commercial farm somewhere.
The transferability of land gives comfort to financiers, that if anyone, by any means, defaults on their loans, the bank now has a fallback, which means the debt can actually be financed by somebody else and the firm then transfers ownership to whoever may have financed the debt.
So, this is a game changer in terms of unlocking value on our land under the Land Reform Programme. And indeed other lands too. They had lost the value completely. They had zero value. Now, this restores value, the value of land.
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Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Association Trust (ZWIFAT) president Depinah Nkomo said the new land tenure system will allow farmers to develop infrastructure on their farms. She said:
<blockquote>
Now we will be very confident especially us women because we will be able to access financing and we will also be able to transfer ownership as stipulated.
Before this development, we were not even confident to build proper infrastructure on our land so the President has heard our cry and as women, we are very happy we can now start our projects confidently and freely because we will now have that security.
</blockquote>
Economist Prosper Chitambara, speaking to <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200033401/new-land-laws-biggest-heist">NewsDay</a>, said the changes to the land tenure system are important not only for the land itself but also for Zimbabwe’s broader economic development. He said:
<blockquote>
I think it is critical in terms of ensuring the productive utilisation of the land and also unlocking full value, private sector investment and finance from private financial institutions while allowing land to be transferable.
That is one of the things a lot of scholars and observers have been advocating. I think that is the way to go to unlock the full value of land in Zimbabwe.
</blockquote>
Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) president Lawrence Nyazema said that while the new land tenure system provides farmers with more secure and transferable land rights, banks will still need to see evidence of sound business plans and the ability to generate steady income streams. Said Nyazema:
<blockquote>
Land is not as collateral that a farmer can walk into a bank requesting a loan because he or she has land. A farmer must have a project that generates money.
It is very difficult for a farmer to just approach a bank and ask for money just because they have the land. If he or she fails to pay for the loan, the bank should be able remove them from the land.
It is prudent for the farmers to come up with project proposals that they can develop to make sure that they are able to access the funds and repay the loans.
</blockquote>
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Farmers' unions are happy about changes to land ownership. Now, farmers will get official documents for their land from the government. This will help them get loans to improve their farms. Women farmers are especially excited about building on their land. Economists think these changes are good for the economy too. Banks say farmers need to have good plans to get loans, not just land. Everyone agrees that these changes will make a big difference for farmers and the country's economy.

Farmers' Unions Hail Land Tenure Reforms As Game-Changer For Agricultural Sector

The Zimbabwean government announced a significant change to its land policy, permitting beneficiaries of past land reforms to sell or transfer their farms, but exclusively to “indigenous Zimbabweans.”
Speaking to the media after a cabinet meeting in Harare on Tuesday, October 8, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Jenfan Muswere, said that the new policy aims to “unlock value” and will provide farmers who benefited from the 2000 land reforms with a “bankable, registrable, and transferable document of tenure.”
The government has also implemented an indefinite moratorium on the issuance of new 99-year leases or permits for agricultural land.
This announcement may indicate the conclusion of Zimbabwe’s contentious land reform programme, which involved the seizure of land from white owners and its redistribution to indigenous blacks.
Below is the announcement by Muswere in full:
<blockquote>
The land reform programme was carried out for the purpose of divesting ownership of agricultural land from the minority white farmers to the black majority people of Zimbabwe.
The rationale of the land reform was to address the inequalities that existed during the colonial era and to ensure that every Zimbabwean had equitable access to his finite resource.
The constitution and other legislative provisions that deal with the administration of agricultural land have mechanisms and safeguards to ensure that the legacy and benefits of the land reform are protected and land reform is irreversible.
The noticeable new paradigm amongst Zimbabwean farmers, especially the majority of beneficiaries of land reform, is to regard and conduct farming as a business; as a source of both livelihood and means to increasing personal economic value. Our young people have positively embraced the land reform programme and now account for a significant proportion of the country’s commercial farmers.
The government has since 2008 put in place various programmes to assist farmers to be productive on the land. The support includes the Baccossi Inputs and Mechanisation Equipment; Maguta and the Special Grains Import Substitution Programme among others.
In the second republic, the country has witnessed and benefited from the government’s deliberate and complementary policy of incorporating accelerated infrastructure development which includes road construction and rehabilitation incorporating the much needed rural roads; dam construction; irrigation and housing development.
While our people are endowed with agricultural land resulting from progressive government policies, they continue to grapple with the following challenges:
1. Difficulty in accessing affordable, appropriately structured and adequate finance for sustainable commercial agriculture.
2. In the absence of security of tenure, the farmers are not sufficiently motivated to invest adequately and to develop robust infrastructure on their farms to enhance sustainable production.
3. The threat to land tenure, especially to successors entitled to land held by beneficiaries of the land reform programme (such as children or war veterans) arising from inheritance and fraudulent succession issues.
4. While the government conceived and implemented these positive programmes, there have been varying levels of accountability from the farmers with a significant proportion of the farmers feeling no obligation to pay back loans advanced.
Consequently, the government has remained saddled with debt emanating from unpaid agricultural loans by many farmers.
5. The menace of land barons who have little or no regard for our town and country planning laws and policies has put a strain on the local authorities’ infrastructure. The land barons develop haphazard and unplanned settlements with no basic services such as water, electricity, sewer reticulation and storm water drainage.
Against this background and in line with section 292 of the constitution read together with sections 289, 293 and 294 that obligates the state to give security of tenure to every person and to alienate for value agricultural land among other requirements, the government will implement the following measures:
1. All land held by beneficiaries of the land reform programme under 99-year leases; offer letters and permits will now be held under a bankable, registrable and transferable document of tenure to be issued by the government of Zimbabwe to beneficiaries. As such, beneficiries of the land reform programme will now have enhanced security of tenure to the land they legitimately hold.
This new policy will invariably be informed by the following guidelines:
a) Priority will be given to veterans of the liberation struggle, women and youths.
b) Security of tenure to all agricultural land regularised under this programme will at all times only be transferable among indigenous Zimbabwe.
c) The land targeted for the new land tenure system will exclude communal land that is under the jurisdiction of traditional chiefs.
2. Urban land will only be made commercially available to credible and approved land developers who will add value to the land in compliance with all relevant laws and protocols. Ultimately, the goal is to establish high quality housing developments in fulfilment of our vision of an upper-middle income society by 2030. Areas that are not in use within cities will be considered for development. Urban renewal, urban transformation and regularisation will also be given priority.
These agricultural and urban land measures will have a huge impact on our economic growth, and will unlock the full value of the land while enhancing the performance of our economy. This will facilitate accelerated investments in agriculture and associated value chains which include irrigation, dam construction, power supply and rural road construction.
The economic value enhancement on land will further unlock resources for the fulfilment of constitutional obligations related to land reform. All these measures will complement current efforts towards an upper middle income economy, which will be achieved by 2030.
The president has constituted a cabinet oversight committee chaired by defence minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri to lead this reform process.
A technical committee – the Land Tenure Implementation Committee (LTIC) – to coordinate and steer the implementation of this process will also be constituted.
These committees will work diligently to develop improved security of tenure for land beneficiaries, while ensuring that value of agricultural and urban state land is fully unlocked to guarantee inclusive and nationwide economic development. Detailed terms of reference have been developed for the two committees.
Accordingly, the government hereby issues an indefinite moratorium on the issuance of any new 99-year leases or permits for agricultural land.
In conclusion, the government remains committed to jealously safeguarding the gains of the liberation struggle including our precious land and everything beneath it. Never again will our land fall back into the hands of our erstwhile colonisers. The utilisation of this land will be guided by our time-tested mantra: Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo/Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo.
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More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

The Zimbabwean government is allowing farmers who benefited from past land reforms to sell their land, but only to indigenous Zimbabweans. This new policy aims to provide farmers with a bankable document of tenure. The government has also stopped issuing new 99-year leases for agricultural land. The announcement may mark the end of the land reform program that took land from white owners and gave it to black Zimbabweans. The government wants to help farmers be productive, face challenges, and improve the economy. Committees will work on implementing the new policy, which aims to unlock the economic value of land and achieve an upper middle income economy by 2030.

Zimbabwe Government Eases Land Policy: Resettled Farmers Can Now Sell Land To Indigenous Blacks

Renowned Zimbabwean journalist and filmmaker Hopewell Chin’ono says the country’s land reform programme, which was accelerated by the Robert Mugabe administration around 2000, needs to be redone.
Chin’ono said that productive farmers should receive land, rather than allowing politically connected individuals to acquire large tracts of land that they subsequently lease out.
Chin’ono’s remarks came in response to a statement issued on Tuesday, October 1, by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi concerning allegations that community members invaded Strathmore Farm in Banket and stole potatoes.
Commissioner Nyathi said the farm belongs to Retired High Court Judge Vernanda Cecil Ziyambi and is currently leased to Jonathan Timothy Mackwade for potato farming.
He also said preliminary investigations suggest the farm manager authorised farm workers and locals to collect damaged potatoes from the harvested field the day after the harvest was completed.
In his comments, Chin’ono asserted that land is currently held by the wrong people and should be reallocated to those who will use it productively. Wrote Chin’ono on X:
<blockquote>
To my South African friends and followers on this timeline who are always asking me why Zimbabweans come to South Africa to do menial jobs when they have land in Zimbabwe. Below is your answer.
What you are reading in the document in the quoted tweet (statement by Commissioner Nyathi) explains what went wrong with land reform in Zimbabwe.
Land is given to those connected to ZANU-PF, but they are not necessarily farmers.
They then rent the farms to white farmers who were kicked off the land, so what happened in Zimbabwe is not land reform, but thugs taking over land and renting it out instead of giving it to people with expertise to use it.
In a normal society, a judge who is not a farmer would not have been given land only to rent it out to the real farmer. 
This makes food in Zimbabwe more expensive because the farmer has to pay rent to someone who produces nothing and got the land for free without paying a penny.
Judges receive these farms as a thank you for passing illegal rulings against the regime’s political opponents! 
Land is in the hands of the wrong people. 
If the real farmer had been given access to this state land, the cost of potatoes would be cheaper because they wouldn’t have to factor in rent paid to the “farmer-owner.”
Land reform will have to be redone in Zimbabwe in a way that is sustainable, fair, and economic. 
What ZANU PF did is akin to invading a plane without knowing how to fly it, then asking the pilot to use it for a while in exchange for rentals.
The real farmer can’t develop the farm because it is not in their name, as they can be kicked off by the official owner.
Land is in the hands of a ZANUPF mafia that charges protection fees/rentals to white farmers to allow them to continue farming.
This practice perpetuates historical inequalities and has negative economic consequences for the country.
The cost of food production rises due to this added layer of rent, and the overall productivity of the agricultural sector suffers because experienced farmers are not given the opportunity to fully utilise their skills and resources.
A sustainable and equitable land reform process would prioritise allocating land to those with the knowledge and experience to use it effectively.
This would not only improve agricultural productivity but also help address historical injustices and empower previously disadvantaged communities.
Today, the majority of the previously disadvantaged are still disadvantaged. I was one of the top three Boer goat breeders in Zimbabwe from around 2015 doing it at my ancestral plot.
A former governor for Mashonaland East asked me to join ZANUPF if I wanted land. Of course, I politely said no.
The judge can’t own land, it is state land. She has a lease, and because she is part of the ruling elite, she can rent it out and make money from something she didn’t pay a penny for. Her husband, Tarisai Ziyambi, was also a government minister.
If people who can produce and have the production expertise have to beg people who can’t produce for land, it is a Banana Republic. Zimbabwe is a crime scene!!!!
</blockquote>
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Zimbabwe needs to redo land reform because wrong people have land. Land is given to politically connected people who rent it out. This makes farming more expensive and lowers productivity. The real farmers are not given a chance to use the land effectively. Land reform should be fair and give land to those who can use it well. Currently, those with expertise in farming are overlooked. Hopewell Chin'ono says land reform should be redone in a way that helps everyone, not just a few people.

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