“Land is not only one of the most defining social, political and development issues in Southern Africa, it contains the most intractable element. Agrarian reform has gone through considerable historical continuities that have made the resolution of the land question in Southern Africa complex. This brief highlights some of the realities on the ground in the lowveld regions of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Central to the study is the utility of geospatial technologies. Success indicators have brought forth the need to re-interpret the failures and successes of landform. The evidence shown is contrary to the notion that land reform has been a complete failure, particularly on rural livelihoods. However the challenges faced by medium scale commercial farming raise the questions of viability of this sector. Future policy framework must pay attention to the sustainability of land reform based on evidence on the ground.”
