The Fast Track Land Reform Programme and Food Insecurity: A case of Zimbabwe from 1992 to the present

Abstract

The usurpation of land and displacement of black people during the colonial era created serious imbalances in terms of land ownership between black and white people in Zimbabwe. This presentation discusses the road to the Fast Track Land Reform Programme which was kick-started in the quest to redress the skewed land ownership patterns that characterised the colonial era. It discusses the impact of major policy shifts from the market-based “willing seller –willing buyer” principle to the Fast Track Land Reform Programme on Zimbabwe’s food security. It is evident from the findings that the implementation of the FTLRP, in 2000 had adverse effects on agricultural production which culminated into food insecurity. As a result of the FTLRP the country was unable to feed its people. It concludes that there is utmost need for policy reflection with a vein desire to depart from detrimental scenarios which have endangered the capability of the country to produce enough food crops. The presentation makes recommendations to policy formulators and implementers in a drive towards rebuilding the country’s image as the bread basket of Southern Africa.