Land reforms are back on the development agenda. Different types of land reforms have been adopted globally in recent years, but by far the most controversial and most radical has been the fast track land reform pursued by the Government of Zimbabwe from 2000. There is general scholarly agreement that the fast track process has been accompanied by various socio-economic and political challenges, including an increase in levels of food insecurity. This thesis examines fast track reform in specific relation to the livelihoods of smallholder households and household food security amongst land beneficiaries. It argues that the problem of food insecurity in Zimbabwe is a complex social, political and economic issue, which cannot be simplistically reduced to the failures of fast track. Understanding household food insecurity post-2000 needs to go beyond the notion that the nation‟s food security hinges on overall levels of production alone. In particular, livelihoods and food security need to be conceptualised at community and household levels. Therefore, while addressing the broad macro-level analysis and discourse around the process of fast track, the study also adopts a micro-level analysis to look at the varied impact of fast track on the actual beneficiaries. The research focuses on small-scale beneficiaries in the Goromonzi District of Zimbabwe and, through the use of the sustainable livelihoods framework, looks at how their local contexts have been influenced by the wider socio-economic and political processes, and how beneficiaries have sought ways of coping with the challenges they face.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has had massive detrimental impacts on rural communities across Africa including in Zimbabwe. In response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, the government of Zimbabwe has developed and adopted comprehensive programmes to address HIV and AIDS prevention, care and support. One of the critical components of these programmes relates specifically to treatment of the HIV infected given that HIV and AIDS is increasingly seen as a manageable threatening disease. However the success and effectiveness of the treatment regimen (involving antiretroviral drugs or ARVs) is dependent heavily on complete adherence to the rigid and complex regimens. It is against this background that this thesis studies a particular rural community in Zimbabwe called Chivanhu (in Masvingo Province) in terms of the relationship between rural livelihoods and HIV and AIDS (particularly HIV treatment and treatment adherence). Unlike other rural communities (notably in communal areas), Chivanhu is an informal and unstable community with a turbulent history. Most rural studies of HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the region have focused on well-established and stable communities in which agricultural production is still of some significance. In such communities, the impact of HIV and AIDS on livelihoods is severe but, in more informal settlements, the vulnerability of households to the epidemic (and challenges pertaining to treatment adherence) is even more pronounced. Using a rural livelihoods framework, this thesis seeks to identify, understand and analyse the conditions which shape levels of adherence to HIV and AIDS in the informalsettlement of Chivanhu in Zimbabwe.

Development thinkers and practitioners have been pondering over community participation for the last decades. Some even called the 1980s a decade of participation in development discourse while others also view the current decade of social movements, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Community-Based Organizations as a manifestation of organized community participation. The Sangwe Communal Lands is one such area that researchers in the last decades have been pondering over the role of community participation in project sustainability. Likewise this study evaluates the effectiveness of community participation in Sangwe where it has been hypothesized that the current participation discourse has not lived up to its billing of ensuring sustainable projects. The research therefore explores some of the politics surrounding community participation in Sangwe and Zimbabwe at large. From one angle to the other, the research overviews some of the different theoretical orientations, goals, processes and practices that are commonly used but not always recognized to constitute genuine community participation. The research is intended to clarify some of the differences that emerge when projects are designed, and to stimulate discussion about community participation more generally. This study shows that the local communities who in this case are the reason for being of NGOs and their programmes are quite critical in development projects undertaken in their own areas. This to a larger extent determines the success of development initiatives at all levels. Such a scenario calls for a proper sustainable and pro-rural community legal and policy framework as a pre-requisite for sustainable projects. The study further highlights the need for development workers and agents to change their attitude towards communities and their indigenous knowledge systems. They need to co-opt community indigenous knowledge as a system that has a unique contribution to sustainable development. Above all, attitude change is the pillar for the New World System and 21st century development paradigm that respects local values, concerns, culture, and aspirations and that these should be taken on board in the management of development programmes.

The chief purpose of this study was to determine the role of the rural communities in the food security initiatives of the government in alleviating food shortages in the Marange communal area of Mutare district in Zimbabwe. The focus was on local community empowerment; ownership of food security initiatives by the communities; communities‟ independent analysis of needs and priorities; their involvement in designing food security programmes and the role of the government in linking with the communities. The data was gathered using a case study research design with the qualitative method being the main research approach. The primary data was obtained from focus group discussions held in three wards of Marange area and some in-depth interviews conducted with selected key informants. The findings indicate that the government designs food security strategies without considering the input of communities. The communities are introduced and expected to adopt these pre-conceived food security plans at the implementation stage. The results also show that poor community participation in the food security initiatives of the government, specifically during the initial stages, is a significant contributing factor to the continual shortages of food in the communal lands of Marange. It is the view of this study that unless community input in decision making at the planning and designing phases is given preference in the food security interventions of the government in rural Zimbabwe, food security will seldom be achieved. While the government has a significant role to play in food security measures, such interventions can make an important contribution if the use and development of community participation is made central to food shortage alleviation strategies. The principal conclusion of this study is that if food security is an intended ultimate goal in rural Zimbabwe, the communities must participate fully in the conceptualisation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the government-initiated food security programmes.

Thesis (M. A. (Social Work)) --University of Limpopo, 2017 / Refer to the document

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development

MAAS / Department of Developmental Studies

Institute for Rural Development / MRDV

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigated the issues that rural smallholder women face in accessing markets in developing countries. Market access for rural smallholder farmers is increasingly being promoted as a means towards catalysing sustainable rural development. However, without addressing the gender specific issues that rural smallholder women farmers face in accessing markets, market access as a strategy towards sustainable rural development may fail to achieve its ends. This thesis gathered evidence from a group of smallholder women farmers in Chirumanzu, Zimbabwe, who are part of a market access project run by Oxfam, in order to highlight the issues that they face in accessing markets for their produce. Primary and secondary data were used in the study. First, a literature review was conducted to assess the issues that smallholder rural women farmers in developing countries face in accessing markets and how the issues differ to those faced by male smallholder farmers. A thematic assessment of the issues was conducted, beginning with the production for market through to the actual market engagement. Secondly, primary data was collected in Chirumanzu, from rural smallholder women farmers who are participating in a market access project being facilitated by Oxfam. Data was collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews and document review. Five focus group discussions were held with a total of 40 participants in August 2011. Some of the key findings were that rural smallholder women farmers face challenges in terms of meeting the labour demanded for market production, accessing market information and having to contend with high transport costs. The data was then compared with the points raised in the literature review. The comparison showed that most of the key issues raised in the Chirumanzu case study were similar to those identified in the literature review. The study came to the conclusion that rural smallholder women farmers face different issues and more challenges in accessing markets compared to male farmers. Market access initiatives that do not recognise and address the gender specific challenges that women smallholder farmers face may therefore not be catalysts for sustainable rural development. Therefore recommendations are that market access initiatives should go beyond facilitating access to markets to address the structural social, economic and cultural issues that present special challenges and constraints to women smallholder farmers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis het ondersoek ingestel na die kwessies waarvoor landelike vrouekleinboere in ontwikkelende lande te staan kom om toegang tot markte te verkry. Marktoegang vir landelike kleinboere word toenemend aangemoedig as ’n manier om volhoubare landelike ontwikkeling teweeg te bring. Indien die geslagspesifieke kwessies van marktoegang waarmee landelike vrouekleinboere te kampe het egter nié hanteer word nie, kan marktoegang as strategie vir volhoubare landelike ontwikkeling in gebreke bly om sy doel te bereik. Hierdie tesis het bewyse ingesamel van ’n groep vrouekleinboere in Chirumanzu, Zimbabwe, wat deel is van ’n marktoegangsprojek deur Oxfam, ten einde die soeklig te werp op die uitdagings wat hulle ervaar om marktoegang vir hul produkte te bekom. Die studie het van primêre sowel as sekondêre data gebruik gemaak. Eerstens is ’n literatuuroorsig onderneem om te verken watter probleme landelike vrouekleinboere in ontwikkelende lande ondervind om marktoegang te verkry, en hoe dit verskil van die uitdagings waarvoor hul manlike eweknieë te staan kom. Die kwessies is tematies beoordeel en het gestrek van markgerigte produksie tot en met werklike markskakeling. Tweedens is primêre data ingesamel onder landelike vrouekleinboere in Chirumanzu wat aan ’n marktoegangsprojek deur Oxfam deelneem. Data is deur middel van fokusgroepbesprekings, onderhoude met sleutelinformante sowel as ’n dokumentoorsig bekom. Vyf fokusgroepbesprekings is in Augustus 2011 met altesaam 40 deelnemers gehou. Van die belangrikste bevindinge was dat landelike vrouekleinboere bepaald uitdagings ervaar wat betref die vereiste arbeid vir markgerigte produksie, toegang tot markinligting sowel as hoë vervoerkoste. Daarná is die data met die hoofpunte uit die literatuuroorsig vergelyk. Die vergelyking toon dat die meeste van die kernbevindinge in die Chirumanzu-gevallestudie met die bevindinge in die literatuuroorsig ooreenstem. Die studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat landelike vrouekleinboere voor andersoortige kwessies en meer uitdagings as hul manlike eweknieë te staan kom ten einde marktoegang te verkry. Marktoegangsinisiatiewe wat nié hierdie geslagspesifieke uitdagings van vrouekleinboere erken en hanteer nie, kan dus in gebreke bly om waarlik volhoubare landelike ontwikkeling teweeg te bring. Daarom beveel die studie aan dat marktoegangsinisiatiewe oor méér as die blote fasilitering van marktoegang handel, en ook aandag skenk aan die strukturele maatskaplike, ekonomiese en kulturele kwessies wat besondere uitdagings en beperkings vir vrouekleinboere inhou

Zimbabwean rural women make significant contribution to agriculture and are the mainstay of the farm labour. Although women do the majority of agricultural work, men, for the most part continue to own the land, control women‟s labour and make agricultural decisions supported by patriarchal social systems. Thus, rural women faced difficulties than men in gaining access to land under Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). Women‟s relationship with land is therefore through husbands, fathers, brothers or sons. Therefore, this study has undertaken with the objective of assessing the impact of land distribution programme with respect to its contribution to women‟s empowerment in the study area. The Gender and Development approach was employed to assess women access to land under the FTLRP. Such an approach to rural development can help in reducing the gender gap between women and men in order to achieve gender-balanced development. The study used qualitative research methodology where semi-structured interviews gather data from women in Mutasa District. Findings indicate that there are a number of challenges and constraints that are experienced by rural women under the Fast Track Land Reform Programme which include male land registration, no access to credit, inadequate government input support, lack of government laws and policies awareness on women land rights, shortage of farm implements and irrigation water supply and lack of agriculture training. On the other hand, culture and traditional practices still affect women in other cases, disadvantaging them in favour of men, as in inheritance of land and property in the household. It was generally assumed that the programme did not improve women access to land. To improve women access to land, in future, the study recommends that a serious intervention by the state should occur coupled with the revitalization of the programme and a paradigm shift towards an effective food security programme which emphasizes women and their important role in agriculture.