Zimbabwe’s Emerging Farmer Classification model: a ‘new’ countryside

ABSTRACT

The article presents an Emerging Farmer Classification model and its typologies, revealing the dominance of medium-scale farmers, consisting of smallholder and medium-sized farms, in Hwedza district. The article argues that the Emerging Farmer Classification reflects ongoing reconfiguration in Hwedza district and is a result of the changing workings of capital after the Fast Track Land Reform era. The analysis is based on a case study involving 230 household interviews across five settlement models, and 20 in-depth interviews. The article identifies capital as a key driver shaping agrarian relations, following land redistribution in Zimbabwe.

RÉSUMÉ

L’article présente l’émergence d’un modèle de classification des agriculteurs ainsi que ses typologies, révélant la domination des agriculteurs de taille moyenne, comprenant les petites et moyennes exploitations agricoles du district de Hwedza. L’article fait valoir que la nouvelle classification des agriculteurs reflète la reconfiguration en cours dans le district de Hwedza, et qu’elle est le résultat de l’évolution des rouages du capital suite à l’ère du programme accéléré de réforme agraire (PARA). L’analyse est basée sur une étude de cas impliquant 230 entretiens avec des ménages de cinq modèles d’implantations différents, ainsi que 20 entretiens approfondis. L’article identifie le capital comme un moteur clé façonnant les relations agraires suite à la redistribution des terres au Zimbabwe.

KEYWORDS:

• Production
• accumulation
• social differentiation
• Emerging Farmer Classification model

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Production
• accumulation
• différentiation sociale
• Modèle de classification des agriculteurs

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the many individuals who assisted with data collection and capture in 2016. These included John Chirere, Farai Chikasha, Tendai Machemedze and Blessing Katema, Ruvimbo Shonhe and Anopa Shonhe. In the build-up to this article we also received valuable critiques from Prof. Patrick Bond, Steven Mberi, Freedom Mazwi, Walter Chambati, Naison Bhunu, Emmanuel Makiwa and Christine Jani, Rangarirai Muchetu and Caleb Maguranyanga. We acknowledge the varied contributions they made in shaping the ideas in this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Toendepi Shonhe holds a PhD in development studies (agrarian relations) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and a master’s degree in public policy management from Witwatersrand University. His research interests are in agrarian change, including its commercialisation, rural development, the political economy of commodity value chains and climate change, as well as agricultural mechanisation and labour.

Oliver Mtapuri holds a PhD in development studies from the University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban, South Africa. He teaches courses in poverty and inequality, and advanced research methods, at the same university. His areas of interest include poverty and inequality, community-based tourism, redistribution, project management and climate change.

Notes

1 The A1 farms are the villagised type of plots of an average 6 ha under the FTLRP of 2000, while the A2 farms are the mid-sized farms intended for capitalist production under the same land reform programme.

2 The stop order system is designed to ensure contracted farmers deliver agricultural commodities to the contracting companies, where the costs of inputs are deducted from sales proceeds.

3 Zimbabwe has five agro-ecological regions, based on rainfall patterns and soil types.