A Comparative Study of the Income and Food Security Status of Households Resettled under Phase I and Phase II of the Land Resettlement Programme. The Case of Gwanda District

At independence in 1980, Zimbabwe inherited a racially skewed land ownership system with the white minority owning more prime land than the majority black population. The subsequent post independence land reform was implemented in two distinct phases. Phase I was implemented gradually, spanning September 1980 to 1999, while Phase II was implemented at an accelerated pace, hence the name Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), from year 2000 on-wards. Most researchers have criticized Phase II resettlement for the ad-hoc and seemingly haphazard manner in which it was implemented, which seemed to negatively affect the income and food security status of the newly resettled households. This research sought to examine the differences if any, in incomes, productivity and food security status between households in Phase I resettlement and those in Phase II resettlement. Data was collected from villages in Gwanda North District, from households resettled under the two different phases. The study revealed that households under Phase I were more food secure and resource endowed than households in Phase II. Government was recommended to provide more support to households in Phase II resettlement in the form of subsidized inputs, road infrastructure, agricultural extension and functional marketing arrangements in order to boost productivity, incomes and food security in this sector. Keywords: Land reform, Phase I, Phase II (FTLRP), resettlement, food security, Gwanda North, Zimbabwe