The impact of land reform on commercial farm workers' livelihoods

This study examines the situation of farm workers on five commercial farms in Mashonaland East and West, Zimbabwe, in March 2001.The paper finds that:farm workers’ livelihoods are inextricably linked with the fate of the farm itselfalmost all of the workers’ food and cash income comes from activities on the farm, their houses are on the farms and they pay relatively low or subsidised prices for foodstuffs from the farm storesome are assisted with access to health and education servicesordinarily the workers are reasonably food secure, however their scope for coping with unexpected shocks is limitedon the farm which has been designated for acquisition only, there has not yet been any significant changes in the workers’ livelihoodson the farm which has been partially occupied by war veterans, the farmer has come to an accommodation with the occupiers whereby they have control of an area of land that was not formerly in production, and the farmer maintains his operations as normal on the remaining part of the farm, therefore, there has been no significant impact on the livelihoods of the farm workersthe situation of the workers on the farm which has been designated and partially occupied and on the farm facing imminent closure is of concernOn the results of the findings, the paper recommends the following:More consideration needs to be given to the status of farm workers in the “fast-track” processThere is a need for more clear and transparent information to be given to farmers and workers regarding the time lag between designation and actual resettlement, to assist them in adapting to their changing situationThe question of service provision for new settlers needs to be addressedNGOs and other interested agencies should network further to share information on the status of workers, particularly regarding their locations after they have to leave farmsFurther research is needed on the impact of the resettlement process on labour opportunities in communal and other areas beyond the commercial farms