(3 minutes read)
· Zimbabwean President Emerson Mnangagwa, while addressing provincial ministers, said those who are not fully utilizing the land risk losing it
· He clarified that the ‘use it or lose it’ principle will apply over and above the maximum farm size restrictions. He stressed that the days of people holding large tracts of idle land are over
Zimbabwean President Emerson Mnangagwa, while addressing provincial ministers, said those who are not fully utilizing the land risk losing it. He clarified that the ‘use it or lose it’ principle will apply over and above the maximum farm size restrictions. He stressed that the days of people holding large tracks of idle land are over.
Zimbabwe is finalizing a land audit. The audit is to find out the presence of multiple farm ownership, under-utilization of land, investments made on land parcels, and the skills and competencies of the land owners.
In mid-2019, the audit had revealed that Grace Mugabe, the wife of former president Robert Mugabe, owns 16 farms. There are counter views also to this concept. Because of the radical land reforms that are being carried out, size of the holdings have become very small and economic farming cannot be carried out. That is said to be the main reason for the severe drop in the agricultural production in the country, which was once known as the granary of Africa.
