Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
As Groenwald (2003) has noted, successful land reform does not depend only on principles
or special conditions, but depends on the execution and delivery of land reform policies,
where people and institutions have to formulate policies, devise means, procedures and
administrative bodies to perform the agreed tasks. In as much as land reform is aimed at
increasing productivity and people welfare, this goal must not be achieved in isolation to
major variables like markets and economic performance of the country. Much of the world-
wide criticism of the Zimbabwean FTLRP has been based on such convictions.
The Zimbabwean market post FTLRP was dualistic in nature, with the formal market
trailing behind the thriving informal market. Market participation by farmers required
extra effort and a certain level of market intelligence/awareness. Expectedly, educational
level and age were shown to play a major role in determining farmers' market participation.
Though these are critical factors that can even be considered during land reform beneficiary
selection, if seriously considered, they distort the essence of the program, which is poverty
alleviation and livelihood improvement among the poor and the disadvantaged. Training
FTLR beneficiaries through increasing extension visits can be a great step towards
integrating small scale farmers in the mainstream economy.
In the light of the foregoing, it is clear that the process of land reform is a complex, if not also
complicated, process, and everything cannot be achieved simultaneously, where successful
management and execution of the programme is dependent on the clear identification of
priorities. Success of land reform programmes will logically be maximised if early efforts
are expended on those activities and locations offering the highest probability of success.
The land reform process must take into account various institutional, technical, financial
and time constraints, in view of the need to achieve the broad social and economic goals of
such a program within the shortest desirable period.
References
Chirwa, E.W. (2006). Commercialisation of food crops in rural Malawi: insights from the household
survey. Working Paper No. 2006/04.EU. University of Malawi, Chancellor College, Department
of Economics.
Eavis, P. (2002). Small arms and light weapons (SALW) in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes
region: challenges and ways forward. The Brown Journal of World Affairs 9, 251-261.
Fafchamps, M. and E. Gabre-Madhin (2001). Agricultural markets in Benin and Malawi: the
operations and performance of traders. The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.
FAO (2009). FAO Zimbabwe newsletter, February-March 2009. Harare, Zimbabwe.
GOZ, (2009). Second Round Crop and Livestock Assessment report. Ministry of Agriculture,
Mechanisation and Irrigation Department. Government of Zimbabwe. 12 February 2009.
Gujarati, D.N. (2003). Basic econometrics. Fourth edition. McGraw-Hill: New York, USA.
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