I recently traveled to Zimbabwe for de Volkskrant, a country with an incredible amount of agricultural potential. After decades of mismanagement, hopeful news is finally coming from the country in southern Africa: last year, a historically large amount of grain was harvested.
Former president Mugabe decided in 2000 to distribute all agricultural land (much of which was owned by white farmers) to black Zimbabweans, causing production of grain, tobacco and maize to plummet. Much of the country quickly deteriorated.
But thanks to enough rainfall and significant investment from the business community, the fields in the Zimbabwean countryside are blooming again. One of the investors who works with farmers is the young Tino Zinyemba, whom I followed for this story.
Tino hunts overgrown plots of land, hoping to add the land to his collection of farms. If he can persuade the owner to allow Zinyemba to cultivate the land, he or she will receive a share of the harvest.
He often approaches landowners who are struggling, he explains. “They often lack the resources or knowledge to grow on their land, or do not have enough money to get outdated equipment working again.”
You can read more about these joint ventures in the major report in the daily section of the newspaper today. The piece is also online here.