Tenure security and productivity in small‐scale agriculture in Zimbabwe: Implications for South Africa

Abstract

This article tests empirically the interaction between land tenure security and agricultural productivity in small‐scale agriculture in Zimbabwe. Data for the analysis were gathered during April and August of 1995 by means of an interview survey of farmers in the small‐scale commercial sector, communal area and Model A resettlement area of Zimbabwe. Two‐stage least squares regression estimates reveal that land tenure security has a positive and significant influence on investment incentives and agricultural productivity in the sample. This result has two important implications for proposed land reforms in South .. Africa. Firstly, the result lends support to the notion that indigenous tenure institutions in communal areas of South Africa are a constraint on agricultural development. Secondly, it is clear that a national land redistribution policy must be accompanied by innovative tenure institutions which facilitate economic interaction and internalise externalities on land resettled by individuals and groups. This is particularly important in South Africa where groups of up to 300 families are being settled on commercial farms under a group ownership model.

Notes

Respectively, Graduate Student and Head of Department, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Centre for Science Development (CSD), South Africa. Opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CSD.