Zimbabwe’s investments in agriculture, after a contested Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) underpinned by often violent land occupations (these were largely contained by the state by 2005), have triggered a debate on the meaning and import of ‘international land grabs’. This paper sought to understand: 1) the interest and role of the Zimbabwe government and its contribution
to the first large-scale private investments undertaken by GreenFuel in Chisumbanje; 2) the impact of the project on local communities’ land rights and livelihoods; 3) the role of the local institutions, be they technical or
administrative in facilitating and mediating in investment, particularly on land; 4) the capacity of local and national institutions to structure
a land agreement palatable to the local
communities; and 5) the role of GreenFuel as the land users.
