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Fast Track Land Reform, Tenure Security, and Investments in Zimbabwe

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  • Zikhali, Precious

Abstract

Since its independence in 1980, Zimbabwe has pursued a land reform and resettlement program aimed at addressing racially skewed land distribution. The most recent phase, the Fast Track Land Reform Program, was launched in 2000 with the aim of acquiring at least five million hectares of land for redistribution. This paper investigates the impact of this program on perceptions of tenure security and investments in soil conservation. Evidence suggests that the program not only created some insecurity among its beneficiaries but also had an adverse impact on investments in soil conservation. Interestingly, households in the study that believed investing in land enhanced tenure security invested significantly more. Their perceptions of tenure security depended positively on investment levels, supporting the contention that households invest in long-term land-related investments to enhance security of tenure.

Suggested Citation

  • Zikhali, Precious, 2008. "Fast Track Land Reform, Tenure Security, and Investments in Zimbabwe," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-23-efd, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-08-23-efd
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. P. Zikhali & P. Chilonda, 2012. "Explaining productivity differences between beneficiaries of Zimbabwe's Fast Track Land Reform Programme and communal farmers," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(4), pages 144-166, December.
    2. Fenske, James, 2011. "Land tenure and investment incentives: Evidence from West Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 137-156, July.
    3. Wisdom Moyo & Zanele Dube, 2015. "The Impact of the Land Reform Programme in Matabeleland North Province: A Case of Woodlands Resettlement Area in Hwange, Zimbabwe," Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 2(4), pages 125-132.
    4. Amankwah, Akuffo & Gwatidzo, Tendai, 2024. "Food security and poverty reduction effects of agricultural technologies adoption − a multinomial endogenous switching regression application in rural Zimbabwe," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    5. Zikhali, Precious, 2008. "Fast Track Land Reform and Agricultural Productivity in Zimbabwe," Working Papers in Economics 322, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Land reform; tenure security; investments; Zimbabwe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q24 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Land

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