How do livestock producers respond to climate change in land reform areas in southern Africa? A recent report from the Institute of Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of t…

Two open access articles have just come out that take the theme of ‘uncertainty’ and explore how it encourages some fundamental rethinking. First, ‘development’ as conventio…

You only have to look at the news each day to realise that we are living in an age of uncertainty. Whether it’s imposing tariffs, interfering in sovereign countries or threatening to annex ar…

Pastoralists are often misunderstood. There is a lot to learn from them and their low impact livestock production argues Prof Ian Scoones in this UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralist…

Exclusive: 25 years after the programme – widely seen as being characterised by violence and economic chaos – was introduced, new research finds that it has helped smallholder farmers become more resilient to the climate crisis

As discussed in the previous blog, we carried out repeat ‘success rankings’ in three of our communal area sites, which are all nearby our A1 smallholder land reform sites, where we have undertaken …

As part of our analysis of the story of land reform over 25 years, we have also been looking at communal areas that are nearby our A1 sites. These are where many people who invaded the farms and we…

This year is the 60th anniversary of the Institute of Development Studies based at the University of Sussex. IDS has been an independent institute linked to the university since June 1966, so the b…

The loss of the central role of people in today’s complex global systems is the greatest danger of all. In Kenya and Amdo Tibet, it can be rediscovered.

The loss of the central role of people in today’s complex global systems is the greatest danger of all. In Kenya and Amdo Tibet, it can be rediscovered.

This year is the United Nations International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. This is an important moment to celebrate the role of pastoralists across the world, recognising their unique contr…

It has been a busy year with our research on 25 years after land reform in Zimbabwe. Biographical interviews have been undertaken with around 100 people from our long-term sample, exploring changes…

The loss of the central role of people in today’s complex global systems is the greatest danger of all. In Kenya and Amdo Tibet, it can be rediscovered.

To complement this ongoing blog and the various academic outputs we produce from the research, we always try and produce some colour booklets on themes emerging from our research for wide sharing. …

As noted in the previous blog, there are a number of new land arrangements emerging on A2 farms under the (very) broad label of ‘joint ventures’. Some 2500 joint ventures have been formally registe…

The high potential areas of Mvurwi in Mazowe district should be the focus for significant commercial agricultural success on the A2 farms as envisaged in the government’s land reform strategy. Ther…

The A2 farms in Matobo are in some of the most remote parts of the district. These are predominantly livestock farming areas, with cattle being the dominant livestock type. Getting to these areas in the rainy season requires a four-wheel drive, skilled driving and much patience. The farms have been carved out of huge ranches with an average of 2800 hectares, with current farms being around 486 ha on average.

Zimbabwe’s new agrarian structure arose out of a political deal during the land reform of 2000 when land was allocated to both smallholders (A1 areas) and medium-scale farms (A2). A2 farms were created in order to accommodate elites’ interest in gaining access to land. In the end, some 23,000 farms were initially allocated as A2 farms across three million hectares. This happened following the land invasions, with land not invaded subdivided for A2 farming areas; or in some cases smallholders were shifted to accommodate influential farmers on larger plots.

climate finance that’s needed for real solutions. climate finance that’s needed for real solutions at COP30

The publication of a US congressional bill to guide foreign policy on September 11th has offered hope to Zimbabweans that the draconian ZDERA (the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, 2001) legislation may be repealed. This could see the end of one of the last formal sanctions on Zimbabwe, offering hope of a greater rapprochement with Western powers. Can this lead the way to debt and arrears clearance and new flows of much-needed international financing?

As followers of this blog will know, I have recently been in South Africa where debates about land reform provoke strong reactions, particular when Zimbabwe is mentioned. At the end of August, President Ramaphosa offered some remarks at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show on the importance of land reform. The comments seemed unremarkable. He said that land reform was necessary to address historical injustices, and that land reform can deliver important benefits for those who have been excluded.

Land redistribution is not the flavour of the month. Many see it as impossible, an idealistic position more suited to the 1950s and 60s. Yet in an era of extreme inequality, when land concentration continues to intensify and livelihoods are constrained, gaining access to land remains crucial important in many parts of the world. This was an important lesson emerging from the amazing…

Today is the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has recently published the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2025, which estimates that the true cost of disasters is nearly $2.3 trillion. This year’s call is to “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters” as part of the international day, with the UNDRR arguing for a “decisive shift” towards funding resilience now to avoid paying for disasters later.