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Why Zimbabwe needs an urgent moratorium on evictions of people living on customary land

By Phillan Zamchiya Dear Reader, I argue for a moratorium on the continued rise of large-scale acquisitions of customary land for private ‘investments’ in the marginalised rural areas of Zimbabwe to allow for a post-colonial democratic national resolution of the three issues articulated below. The latest such unchallenged trend is epitomised by the recently gazetted Statutory Instrument 50 of 2021.…
PLAAS
March 3, 2021
Agrarian ConversationsBlogFeatured BlogUncategorized

Cross-pollinating pastoral studies with wider agrarian questions

Linda Pappagallo How can we transcend fixed and imprinted imageries and open possibilities of innovation in agrarian struggles? Agrarian conversations typically center around land rights, food sovereignty and everyday interactions with neoliberal pressures. These conversations might make you think of farmers ploughing land and uniting for agrarian struggles, as is currently happening in India. We may be aware that the…
PLAAS
March 2, 2021
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The trials and the efforts of a farmer during COVID-19

By Marc Wegerif In January 2020, Thulani* looked like a very successful and entrepreneurial black farmer with a quality product and a niche high-value market. He was growing micro-greens, herbs, and edible flowers for upmarket restaurants, hotels, and caterers around Johannesburg and Pretoria. The produce gets picked in the morning and distributed in refrigerated delivery vans to be eaten fresh…
PLAAS
February 19, 2021
BlogFeatured BlogUncategorizedWomen’s Land Tenure Security

Land tenure insecurity in Zimbabwe exposes rural communities to intimidation and arbitrary evictions

By Owen Dhliwayo and Refiloe Joala Munyokowere villagers versus the State In a recent court ruling, presided over by Justice Mwayera at the Mutare High Court on 24 July 2020, an interdict was granted to prevent the eviction of 750 households from their homes and agricultural land in Munyokowere village, Chipinge District in Manicaland Province, southeastern Zimbabwe. The interdict also…
PLAAS
November 6, 2020
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Problematic assumptions raise questions about South Africa’s new land reform plan

By Ben Cousins The South African government recently announced a plan to allocate 700,000 hectares of state land to black farmers. Exactly how many farms and beneficiaries this will involve is unclear. But there’s a huge amount wrong with the idea. First, it reproduces the core weaknesses of post-apartheid land and agricultural policies, which do little to reduce unemployment or…
PLAAS
October 30, 2020
BlogFeatured BlogUncategorizedWomen’s Land Tenure Security

Mulheres rurais exigem maior participação na Revisão da Política Nacional de Terras

Mulheres rurais exigem maior participação na Revisão da Política Nacional de Terras Uma nova política de terras em elaboração By Clemente Ntauazi, Joana Noyes, Refiloe Joala A 16 de Julho de 2020, o Presidente da República de Moçambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, lançou a fase de auscultação pública para a Revisão da Política Nacional de Terras, que culminará com a alteração…
PLAAS
October 19, 2020
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700 000 ha of state land will be redistributed? More questions than answers

By Katlego Ramantsima ‘Minister Thoko Didiza announces over 700 000 ha of state land will be redistributed.’ This made headlines on almost all media platforms this past week. Land reform has generally been slow, and many, especially those who need agricultural land, were in cheerful spirits about these developments. This is a significant number of hectares in comparison to the…
PLAAS
October 12, 2020
BlogFeatured BlogUncategorizedWomen’s Land Tenure Security

Rural women demand a seat at the table in Mozambique’s National Land Policy Review

By Clemente Ntauazi, Joana Noyes, Refiloe Joala A new land policy in the works On 16 July 2020, the President of the Republic of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi launched the public hearing phase of the National Land Policy Review, which will culminate in the amendment of the 1997 Land Law (Law no.19/97), and other laws and regulations that govern land…
PLAAS
October 7, 2020