I recently discussed my book, Navigating Uncertainty: Radical Rethinking for a Turbulent World, now a year old, with the New Books Network podcast. The host was Morteza Hajizadeh who asked a set of great questions over an extended discussion. We … Continue reading → …
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ZimbabweLand
Why working with – not against – the informal economy is essential: some lessons from Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s national statistical agency, ZimStat, recently reported that 76% of the national economy is informal. This should be of no surprise to anyone, but what to do about it is the big question troubling policymakers. We know the causes: failure … Continue reading → …
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How are cattle herders in Zimbabwe managing January disease?
Since 2016, January disease (theileriosis) has decimated more than half a million cattle in many rural parts of Zimbabwe. Nearly all our study sites have been affected by the disease, with the exception of Matobo, where the climate is much … Continue reading → …
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Where is home? Land, home and belonging in land reform areas in Zimbabwe
As part of our ongoing research on Zimbabwe’s land reform after 25 years, we have been exploring what is meant by ‘home’ and ‘belonging’. Across around 100 interviews undertaken in all our sites, we have asked two simple questions. Firstly, ‘where is ‘home’?’ Second, we asked where will you be buried when you die? Answers … … Continue reading → …
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Managing livestock in a variable, fragmented landscape: challenges of accumulation in Matobo, Zimbabwe
Most of the huge ranches that took up much of Matobo district outside the crowded communal areas to the north were divided up during land reform. As in other areas there were medium-scale farms (A2 and so-called self-contained (SC)), aimed … Continue reading → …
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From maize to horticulture, but challenges of succession ahead in Masvingo province land reform sites, Zimbabwe
Our Masvingo province A1 sites – Wondedzo and Sanangwe near Masvingo town and Clare and Lonely A near Chatsworth in Gutu – are classic dryland maize growing areas. In good years, many tonnes of surplus are produced for sale or … Continue reading → …
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Accumulating through tobacco: the case of Mvurwi in Zimbabwe
Mvurwi area is in Mazowe district, some 100km north of Harare. It is a high potential area where tobacco production has expanded dramatically since land reform thanks in large part to the support from multiple contracting companies operating in the … Continue reading → …
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Accumulating and investing: trajectories of change in Zimbabwe’s land reform areas
A central question for our new research exploring changes in livelihoods 25 years after land reform is what are the trajectories of accumulation – or indeed the opposite? In other words, how well have those who got land following the … Continue reading → …
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Reflecting on ‘success’ in smallholder farming in Zimbabwe
This blog offers a compilation of blogs published over the past weeks, which have offered a reflection on how local people understand ‘success’ and its changes over time especially in the period since the 2000 land reform. We have worked … Continue reading → …
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What does ‘success’ look like in Zimbabwe’s communal areas, and how does this compare with land reform areas?
The previous blog series explored ‘success’ in A1 areas across our sites in Mazowe, Gutu, Masvingo and Matobo districts. How does this compare with local perceptions of success in communal areas? This is an important question as most people in … Continue reading → …
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