Abstract
The main objective of the study was to examine land tenure practices and their implications on the sustainability of the smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe. The different phases of land reforms in Zimbabwe have not been focusing on community irrigation schemes and the evolution of land rights. The farmers’ ownership feelings were stronger for their dryland plots than they were on irrigation plots as the irrigation schemes were regarded as an off-farm employment while their dry-land plots were regarded as transgenerational family assets. Farmers had different perceptions about the security of tenure, inheritability, subletting and disposal of the irrigation plots. The differences in tenure practices and perception attested to the absence of land policy for community irrigation schemes. The existence of informal land markets in some schemes and their absence in others affirmed the Market for the Poor (M4P) assertion that where formal rules and their application are weak, the business environment is governed by the informal rules and the absence of both formalrules and informal institutions make the environment for markets dysfunctional. Some farmers felt theirrigation plots should remain state owned to allow smooth running of schemes and management of farmers’ group dynamics of the irrigation. Some, however, felt the irrigation plots should be privately owned in order to allow farmers to invest and to access financial and input markets.Â
Highlights
Land tenure has been defined as the formal or informal laws, rules and obligations governing the access to, holding or ownership of rights and interests in land (Akudugu, 2013)
All the farmers with rain-fed plots felt the plots were theirs and it was well expressed that the ownership feeling that they had on the rain-fed plot was different from the feeling that they had on the irrigation
In Mambanjeni, the Irrigation Management Committee (IMC) members indicated that they had a hard task of convincing farmers to contribute towards the procurement of their own pump as many of the farmers felt that their investment would not be secure as the scheme belonged to the Government
Summary
Land tenure has been defined as the formal or informal laws, rules and obligations governing the access to, holding or ownership of rights and interests in land (Akudugu, 2013). Land tenure is very sensitive as it evokes deep emotions and defines one‟s sense of participation in a society, commitment and incentives for the promotion of productivity, in vestment, agricultural growth and sustainable use of natural resources (Dore 2015). The customary land tenure system (whereby local leaders allocate arable land to households and their families on a usufruct basis) is still valid despite the changes in population growth and the increasing need to enhance the financial inclusivity of the communal farmers (Marongwe, 2013). Full ownership entails ability to sell rent, get full remuneration from the land and children can inherit the land
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