Changing patterns of livelihood success in Zimbabwe’s old resettlement areas since the 1980s

We made use of the ‘success ranking’ approach that we have used in our A1 and communal area sites. This has proved incredibly insightful when trying to find out how livelihoods have changed – both for the better and worse – over time, making use of local criteria.

We purposively selected a total of 36 men and women of varied age to be part our participatory discussions on ‘success’. The ages of participants ranged from 34 to 75. The success ranking exercise involved ranking all households in each village now and with a reshuffle of the cards for 1985. Three categories were chosen, with SG1 being the most ‘successful’ according to local criteria. In addition to discussing what success meant in the two periods, we also had a discussion of the transitions between success groups for different households and reasons why. Discussions were often enjoyable both for the researchers and participants and were full of humour and laughter.

Indicators of ‘success’ over time

Numerous indicators of ‘success’ were identified during the two periods, and we discussed how they have changed over time.

In the mid-1980s, when people were first settled, livestock ownership, especially cattle, was a key indicator of success. Cattle were especially important for draft power and manure. As one female participant explained, “At that time, a successful farmer would be identified by owning a large herd of cattle, which would allow him/her to plough and cultivate a large area in time.” Owning adequate farming equipment such as a plough, scotch-cart, cultivator and harrows was also important. “All this allowed a successful person to produce a bumper harvest”, remarked another male participant. Those assets were also crucial for collateral to secure a loan from the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC).

Today, these assets are still important, but almost every household now has them. What differentiates people today are other assets. For example, in the 1980s there were only three cars in the whole resettlement area, which all belonged to schoolteachers. Today, almost “70% of the households have a car – either owned by farmers themselves or their children”, one male participant declared. A fleet of cars can be seen parked at Chavarove business centre, waiting to transport people and goods to various destinations.

In the 1980s, land reform beneficiaries were not allowed to take up off-farm wage employment. Despite this official rule, many successful farmers were however also employed in off-farm jobs or were engaging in off-farm businesses. “Such people were considered ‘successful’ as they had access to remittances, which they could use to hire labour and purchase inputs”, one male participant told us. Today, having diversified income sources is considered a sign of success, with some farmers or their children having transport businesses, shops, real estate and so on.

In the 1980s, having a large family – many wives and children – was seen as a good indicator of success. Family labour was important for production. “Without family labour, how were you going to work?”, one male participant commented. Work parties were also common then too. The more successful farmers, with access to cash, were able to hire in labour. Today, this is far more common, as there is less family labour available.

Forty years ago, farmers with Master Farmer certificates were selected to join the resettlements, and extension officers were involved in training. This improved the capacity of farmers, and those with qualifications tended to be much more successful than those without according to workshop participants. “Others failed to succeed because of lack of knowledge”, one female participant recalled.

In the 1980s, no farmer had access to individual piped water. Today, successful farmers have now invested in private boreholes, jojo tanks, piped water and flush toilets. Access to piped water has now reduced labour demands for women. “In the past, women would carry heavy dishes of clothes to wash at the river. But we no longer see that here!”, one female participant told us.

Participants also told us how other farmers, on the back of success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, managed to educate their children up to Form 6 or tertiary level. Indeed, this was a source of pride for many farmers during the discussions. In the 1980s, eating rice, bread and chicken regularly was seen as an indicator of success. As one female participant commented, “These things were eaten once every year during Christmas.” Today, such food is eaten by many on a daily basis. “In the past, there was only home-made beer (ndari), but now we drink bottled beer such as Castle, Bollinger’s and so on”, one male boasted.

When people took up their new land in 1985, they built pole and mud houses. “Brick and iron roof houses came much later”, one female participant noted. The floors were mainly made of clay soils and polished by dung. Today, most farmers have invested in elaborate brick and tin/asbestos roof houses, as well as very fancy brick and thatched houses, with cement or tiled floors. Other successful households have now invested in deep freezers, fridges, television sets and satellite dishes. In addition, some successful farmers have pooled resources and connected their homesteads to main grid (ZESA), while others have invested in solar systems.

Communication has also improved when compared to the 1980s. Today, almost every household has a cell phone. “In the past, when a relative dies in our original homes in communal areas, you would get the message several weeks after the death, and in most cases, you would find the dead person already buried”, one participant told us. The way people dress up has also improved these days as compared to the 1980s.

At community level, other indicators of success also included schools and shops. As one participant commented, “In the past, our children were attending school under trees, but today we have built proper schools.” Today, there is one primary school and one secondary school is under construction. This school is being funded by local farmers themselves, with no assistance from the state.

Because of diversified income sources across both men and women, participants also said that cases of domestic violence were getting fewer. Another change that was identified during the two periods was women’s empowerment. As one female participant told us: “In the past, wives would only wait to receive some cash from their husbands. A wife would wait for the husband to get money to buy pens for children, sometimes going to the extent of begging from the husband. But now, as women, we now have our own sources of income, including rearing broilers, trading, growing and selling vegetables, and so on.”

Despite these positive developments at community level, participants bemoaned the destruction of fenced paddocks by their new neighbours in post-2000 land reform areas. As one male participant commented: “Before 2000, we would just send our livestock to the paddocks, and we were not herding cattle. Following the arrival of A1 farmers from 2000 onwards, the wires were stolen. We no longer have paddocks. So, we are now herding cattle, which is now taking some of our time to do other tasks.”

Changing conditions, changing criteria of success

Not surprisingly, conditions have changed significantly over the past 40 years since the settlement of this area. There are different patterns of asset ownership, new types of services, changing gender relations, an altered labour regime and changes in relationships with neighbours. All these factors affect how ‘success’ is defined. But how have particular households’ fortunes changed over time? This is the focus of next week’s blog.

This is the second blog in a short series on learning lessons from post-1980 old resettlement areas. This post was written by Tapiwa Chatikobo with inputs from Felix Murimbarimba, Ian Scoones, Makiwa Manaka, Betina Muzambirwa and Nyaradzai Mhiripiri

This blog was originally published on Zimbabweland