The World Bank has painted a grim picture about women and landownership in Zimbabwe at a time government says it is promoting women’s involvement in the agriculture sector. Women make up the bulk of subsistence farmers in Zimbabwe, with some estimates that they form 70 percent of the sector.
However, despite those numbers, the World Bank says land ownership by women is disturbingly low, raising concerns about how women can reach their full potential and contribute to economic development.
Zimbabwe has long touted land as the bedrock of the economy, but researchers say without proper allocation of title especially for women, finance has failed to improve agriculture production.
“Compared to men, women have less ownership and access to agricultural land. Documented ownership of agricultural land is low in Zimbabwe; only 2 percent of women and 3,8 percent of men are deeded landowners,” the World Bank (WB) says in a recent report.
“This is driven by lack of finance to purchase commercial farmland, challenges with navigating the system of land titling and traditional exclusion of female spouses in land titling or user rights,” the Bank’s Zimbabwe Gender Assessment Report notes.
Women make up the bulk of subsistence farmers in Zimbabwe, with some
estimates that they make 70 percent of the sector.
The WB said fewer women than men earned their livelihoods in the agriculture sector, 57 percent compared to 66 percent, and their productivity is lower. “This trend is driven by their concentration in subsistence agriculture, limited access to land titles, especially for high productivity (commercial) farming, limited access to financing, agricultural assets, farm and crop management skills, and restricted access to additional farm labour.”
When Zimbabwe embarked on the much criticised land reform programme more than two decades ago, male veterans of the 1970’s liberation war became the face of the violent farm takeovers. Women remained in the shadows, working the land their spouses had claimed from white commercial farmers.
Researchers say this followed the traditional set-up where husbands owned the land, with women only playing the role of working the land especially under highly laborious conditions. But as the World Bank report shows, the exclusion of women in land ownership has been a major driver of economic inequality.
Improved coordination mechanisms are needed in agricultural organisations
to ensure equality for women in the sector.
“Zimbabwe is encouraged to adopt an inter-sectoral strategy to address the many remaining dimensions of gender inequality in the country. It is necessary to address policy implementation gaps,
harmonise gender laws and policies, and strengthen the institutional capacities of gender-relevant ministries,” the World
Bank says.
Because women do not have title to the land they till, like many other farmers they have failed to access bank loans to finance agriculture production. While the agriculture ministry has urged banks to ease stringent requirements for loan applications, there has been little movement, with the World Bank noting that new approaches are required towards the engagement of the private sector.
“Improved coordination mechanisms are needed to break down organisational silos and ensure a more aligned gender agenda across ministries. Innovative approaches are required to meet women’s
empowerment goals and targets in the country,” the Bank says.
“To address these challenges, there is a need for improved integration and monitoring of gender targets across various government levels, as well as enhanced co-ordination and alignment
among ministries and with stakeholders from the private and non-profit sectors,” the World Bank added.
However, the World Bank also notes that despite their high concentration in the agriculture sector, women still lack support in other areas such as skills training that would help improve their
role in contributing to both economic growth and food production.
At the launch of the Zimbabwe Women Agribusiness Network (ZWAN) last
year, the agriculture ministry expressed its commitment towards promoting
women’s empowerment in the agriculture sector.
Zimbabwe has championed women’s empowerment, but the World Bank report highlights the glaring gender gaps that remain as the country makes attempts to improve women’s livelihoods especially in the agriculture sector. At the launch of the Zimbabwe Women
Agribusiness Network (ZWAN) last year, the agriculture ministry expressed its commitment towards promoting women’s empowerment in the agriculture sector. “Zimbabwe Women Agribusiness Network’s mandate of fostering participation of women in farming, enhancing economic growth, creating sustainable food systems and addressing gender inequalities disadvantaging women in agribusiness is commendable and is congruent to government policies,” said Davis Marapira, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development.
Zimbabwe Women Agribusiness Network’s mandate of fostering participation of women in farming, enhancing economic growth, creating sustainable food systems and addressing gender inequalities disadvantaging women in agribusiness is commendable and is congruent to government policies.
“Agriculture occupies a central place in the economy for employment, income generation, poverty reduction and food security, so it is encouraging to see an organisation such as ZWAN thriving, as it is advancing women empowerment in line with the Vision 2030 blueprint of leaving no one behind,” Davis said at the launch. But the World Bank report could mean there is still a long way to go if women are to fully participate in the country’s agriculture sector.
