Locating the Position of Peasants under the “New Dispensation”: A Focus on Land Tenure Issues

The focus of the study is to explore implications of the latest land and agricultural policy pronouncements, discourse and narratives by the new administration on smallholder farmers’ access and security on agricultural land. To gather the perspectives, learn and share experiences of farmers, particularly women, relating to tenure security and access to land, the Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies (SMAIAS) together with the Zimbabwe Land and Agrarian Network (ZILAN) conducted policy dialogues across the country on land tenure issues in the” new dispensation”. There is a shift from the previous administration’s standpoint in terms of land administration and agricultural growth strategy. Under the "new dispensation” the state is pushing for massive investments in all sectors of the economy. However, prioritisation of large scale farming will likely lead to land concentration by capital and land alienation of smallholder farmers, particularly women who do not take part in decision making. Furthermore, the renewed drive for industrial capital to take part in mineral exploitation will, without doubt, have devastating effects on the livelihoods of peasants, particularly those that depend on the land. Click the link below to read the complete study.