Zimbabwe's parliamentary Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has proposed an annual levy of US$50 a hectare on large-scale farms that stay idle or underused without valid justification. The proposal was made at Parliament's 2027 pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo, held from 28 to 31 October.
Presenting the committee's report, its chairperson Felix Maburutse said the levy would rise for every further year the land remained idle, and the money would be ring-fenced for land development, irrigation, agricultural extension and rural infrastructure. "Exemptions should apply in cases of drought, genuine financial hardship, and other legitimate circumstances," he said, and called for better collection of surveying, registration and land administration fees.
Maburutse said progress on farm title deeds and on compensating commercial farmers who lost land under the land reform programme was slow. Against the 2026 budget targets, 1,479 title deeds had been issued against 2,500, and US$30.75 million paid in compensation against a target of US$896.64 million, while 2,696 farms were surveyed against a target of 2,500.
The economist Eddie Cross told Farmer's Weekly the levy was not a solution. "Attempts to charge US$50/ha of underutilised land, which is a totally exorbitant sum of money, would be impossible. It simply would not be paid," he said, adding that repossessing and reallocating land would be very difficult politically. He argued that giving title deeds to land reform beneficiaries, so that they could borrow against their land, and compensating those who lost farms, would do more for production.
The proposal adds to existing efforts to revive dormant farms, including a joint-venture scheme launched in 2020 that links land reform beneficiaries who lack money or skills with investors. Farmer Dan Burger, involved in 13 such farms in the Midlands Province, has told Farmer's Weekly that land goes unused for lack of interest, funding or knowledge, or a mix of these.
Reported by Clemence Manyukwe for Farmer's Weekly.
Source: Farmers Weekly South Africa
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