Divided opinions on radical land reform at thesis defence

Was the land reform in Zimbabwe in the year 2000, when thousands of white farmers were forced off their land, a disaster or a success for the country? A success, in the view of Professor of Development Studies Ian Scoones from the University of Sussex, who served as the faculty examiner for a Lund thesis on Zimbabwe. The author of the thesis was not quite as positive.

In the early 2000s, the media’s reporting from Zimbabwe was dominated by startling disaster headlines concerning Mugabe’s land reforms: white farmers were driven off their well-functioning farms and almost 12 million hectares of land were distributed to Mugabe’s political supporters. The Zimbabwean economy was ruined, resulting in a food crisis.

Ten years after the land reform, Ian Scoones did a study of the Masvingo province in southern Zimbabwe. His study overturned the prevailing view; two thirds of the farmers on the occupied land were ‘normal’ Zimbabweans and only five per cent could be considered to belong to the political elite. Moreover, Ian Scoones showed that the economy had begun to blossom again and that new agricultural companies had developed.

Just before Christmas, Ian Scoones came to Lund to serve as faculty examiner for Mabel Hungwe’s thesis on the land reform.

“The land reform is the largest to be carried out in the world this century. It is therefore very important that research is conducted on its consequences”, he said.

Mabel Hungwe, who is from Zimbabwe, has studied the Mazowe province, which is close to the capital Harare. She does not take as positive a view of the reforms as Ian Scoones. In Mazowe it is the country’s elite that have benefited from the reforms. The land near the capital is very fertile and more highly valued than that in the province which Ian Scoones has studied. This could be a contributory factor.

In addition, Mabel Hungwe says that the agricultural workers who used to work for the white farmers have not benefited from the reform. Many have become unemployed because those who occupied the land instead employed their families and friends.

However, Mabel Hungwe did also observe positive effects of the land reform: agriculture has been developed, the new farmers are making investments and the new communities are bubbling with creativity.
“A large wealth of ideas is needed when 20 smallholders take over a farm that has previously had just one owner”, said Mabel Hungwe.
She agreed with Ian Scoones that the land reform has a bright future and felt that, despite its shortcomings, the land reform had been good for the country.

“In 10–20 years we will probably be able to see that the land reform has been a success”, predicted Mabel Hungwe.

However, she hopes that the country’s political institutions will be reformed. Otherwise it will be difficult for the new farmers to feel secure that they will be allowed to stay and till the earth.

Ulrika Oredsson