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Report on Assessment of the Impact of Land Reform Programme
on Commercial Farm Worker Livelihoods
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| 1. Executive Summary |
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Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe (FCTZ) undertook an assessment of the situation on farms which have been acquired for resettlement under the government sponsored fast track resettlement programme from 10-16 May 2002. The research covered the provinces of Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East and Manicaland.
The research was necessitated by the fluid nature of developments in this sector which made it difficult to make informed decisions on what the current situation is, particularly after the March 2002 presidential elections. Reports from different sources were pointing to rampant closing down of almost all commercial farms and massive displacement of farm workers.
It was therefore necessary to verify the situation on the ground in order to determine the way forward in terms of programming.
The aim:
The aim of the research was to assess the impact of current land reform programme on farm worker livelihoods.
The objectives were to;
- Establish the population and employment status of farm workers prior to the land reform programme on large scale commercial farming areas of Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland West provinces;
- Determine the number of farm workers currently living on the affected farms and their employment status;
- Determine trends of movement of farm workers on displacement from the farms;
- Establish the sources of livelihood for farm workers who are either unemployed or are on reduced wages;
Determine access to play centre and schools by the children of farm workers
A rapid assessment at farm level was conducted in the four provinces of Mashonaland West,East, Central and Manicaland provinces.
Methodology
Quantitative as well as qualitative data was collected at farm level from 235 farms representing 10 percent of all farms identified as affected in the four provinces.
Data was entered and processed using SPSS software.
Findings
Generally three scenarios were observed on the farms visited. The first scenario involved farms, which have completely stopped operations. The second involved farms, which have scaled down significantly and are in the process of winding operations mostly in the next three months. The third scenario involved farms, which have been operating near normal but have been served section 8 and given 90 days to wind operations
The research highlights the further deterioration of farm worker livelihoods and increased vulnerability of farm workers in face of land reform. A large number of farm workers, about 50 percent, have lost employment and are relying on charity of farmer and relatives
Food security and employment
The staple food situation on all the farms surveyed was found to be quite critical. Although on some of the farms the farmers had been assisting with subsidised supplies, they had since run out of resources.
There was also a marked decline in maize planting on the affected farms
The unemployed farm workers are in dire need of food aid because they no longer have any alternative source of income with which to sustain themselves. A few of the farm workers managed to harvest some maize from the pieces of land allocated by the farmers and are making do with that but this will last until June at most.
There were also a few cases of provision of subsidised maize by the farmers before the onset of the land reform programme but these had since stopped. Those farm workers who are still on the farms and are unemployed no longer enjoy either of these privileges
A total of 47 240 farm permanent and seasonal farm workers had lost employment but were still on farms at time of research.
Diplacement scenarios
Forty-eight percent of farm workers indicated that they will stay on on the farms while 26 percent indicated that they would go to their communal homes. Only 3 percent had been settled at time of survey. A further 18 percent percent had/would move to other farms.
Coping strategies
Coping mechanisms for this sector have been greatly eroded and opportunities for access alternative sources of income have dried out. The future of these workers is uncertain given the present environment where one day they are asked to leave and the following allowed to stay. The type of new farmers in the area largely determines their security.
Most unemployed workers are relying on piece-jobs contributing 52.7 percent of coping strategies sited in all provinces. It is important to note, however the significant over 50 percent on farm workers in Manicaland province, who indicated that they are just sitting and doing nothing.
Other services
Less than 20 percent of farm worker children on all farms surveyed were currently benefiting from supplementary feeding. Supplementary feeding seems to be the first casualty when a farm is affected which can have implications on nutrition levels for children in these communities.
Other services like schooling and health have declined but all farms assessed had access to these either on the farm or off the farm. Over 70 percent of farms visited had access to protected sources of water
Recommendations
The affected farm workers need assistance urgently. The main priority at the moment is food. It is important that interested stakeholders move in swiftly into these areas to avert massive starvation
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