Don't condemn Zimbabwe
Ten years ago large areas of Zimbabwe's commercial farmland were invaded by land-hungry villagers, led by war veterans and backed by President Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwe supreme court ruled the land reform programme illegal, and since then images of chaos, destruction and violence have dominated global coverage.
But as Zimbabwe moves forward with a new agrarian system, a more balanced appraisal is now needed for the process that overturned a century-old pattern of land use dominated by a small group of large-scale commercial farmers. This means listening to the results of solid, on-the-ground research.
In our 10-year study in Masvingo province, we examined what happened to people's livelihoods.… Seguir leyendo »