Zimbabwe's changing agrarian sector in perspective

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the challenges facing Zimbabwe's agrarian sector in the context of political events which triggered the removal of Zimbabwe's former president, Robert Mugabe, through a military coup in November 2017. Mugabe's removal from power reconfigured the political landscape in favour of the so-called ‘new dispensation’ led by the country's new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Since assuming power, Mnangagwa's administration has sought to distance itself from Mugabe's radical policies in favour of resetting relations with western countries. However, this new pro-western approach was underpinned by a problematic neoliberal policy trajectory which has undermined the deepening of the agrarian transformation process. This chapter argues that Mnangagwa's new dispensation has failed to address many challenges facing Zimbabwe's agrarian sector. As a result, agrarian injustices and resource thefts by a comprador bourgeoisie have intensified. In addition to the above, state-sponsored land grabs underpinned by insecure tenures and a poor land administration system have increased. This has undermined the viability of the wider agrarian sector despite relative gains in agricultural production during the 2021 agricultural season.