Strengthening community land rights and responses to involuntary displacements caused by development projects in Zimbabwe : final technical report

Despite an inflow of investment in rural communities, there are concerns about negative impacts on local people’s livelihoods, access to farming land, productivity, income levels, food security and access to social services. The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) research partnership assessed the impact and benefits of large-scale investments in the agricultural sector on livelihoods of smallholder farmers using two case studies. Evidence from this project suggests that the large-scale investments increased the income of surrounding communities. However, in contrast to the national level, investments are bypassing provincial and district administration offices who are approached only to resolve conflicts between communities and investors