Zimbabwe holds farm compensation workshop
The Initial Consensus Based Compensation Mechanisms Workshop is meant to look at possible ways of compensating dispossessed white farmers whose land was expropriated by the government.
|||Harare – Zimbabwe, once the bread basket of Africa, is now ranked among the lowest in the region in terms of agricultural production, the European Union Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Fillipe Van Damme said Thursday.
Van Damme made the remarks in Harare while addressing delegates to the Initial Consensus Based Compensation Mechanisms Workshop meant to look at possible ways of compensating dispossessed white farmers whose land was expropriated by the government during the chaotic land reform programme which began in 2000.
The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Lands, supported by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“In fact, nowadays and because of compounding factors such as climate change, inadequate farming practices, poor infrastructure or limited access to inputs and credits, the productivity of the agricultural sector of Zimbabwe is among the lowest in the region,” said the ambassador.
Van Damme said although the land reform programme was inevitable as the unequal access to land had to be corrected; it was the implementation that was questionable.
He said the European Union was cognisant of the importance of creating a conducive environment for investment in the agriculture sector in the country to help farmers improve their capacity so that they became more productive.
“Addressing compensation issues is not a sufficient but certainly a necessary condition to create a more favourable business climate and to increase the level of confidence of foreign and domestic investors in the agriculture sector,” Van Damme said.
He said compensation for past investments on land was not only a legal and moral obligation, but was also critical for ensuring security of land tenure and luring agricultural investment.
“While focusing on the past is key, it is similarly important to address pending issues of the past, in particular the setup of a consensual based mechanism to the valuation and compensation of acquired land.”
Speaking at the same occasion, John Laurie, who sits in the Valuation Branch of the Commercial Farmers Union that deals with compensation, said commercial farmers had compiled a comprehensive data base of assets on an individual farm basis.
Laurie said the database had taken 16 years to reach near finality and covered 87 per cent of the farms and had a comprehensive inventory.
“The database is a unique tool as it records the original infrastructure at time of the acquisition, some of which has since been lost or destroyed. It has cost a great deal in both time and research to produce since it has to stand up to scrutiny in all respects,” Laurie said.
He expressed hope that the engagement with the government would lead to a mutually beneficial resolution to the land reform program and result in full and fair compensation for losses suffered by the affected farmers.
“We hope and expect that money will flow into the economy from this resolution and that a difficult era in Zimbabwe will be laid to rest and we may move forward in harmony.
Maxwell Mutema, a land consultant engaged by the Ministry of Lands to work on the programme, said government had always been committed to finalising the issue of compensation, but was being hindered by the lack of resources.
“Despite government’s genuine endeavour, the issue of resources to address the backlog of evaluation has been a major hamstring and there is need for assistance,” Mutema said.
He said other farmers’ organisations such as the Zimbabwe Farmers Union, Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union and other stakeholders were in support of the compensation process.
African News Agency
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