There is much we can learn from Zimbabwe
I recently attended a media day held by the Southern African Agri Initiative in Pretoria. The event was aimed at drawing attention to the Zimbabwean government's handling of the supposed compensation to be paid to farmers who had been removed from their land during the land grabs there in the early 2000s (see page 24). Members of the media and some of these farmers had been invited to attend. During the briefing, the farmers shared their experiences. Their stories are the stuff of nightmares. In most cases, political activists and affiliates invaded these farmers’ land, burnt down their houses and destroyed infrastructure. Some producers were forced to flee in the middle of the night, with nothing but the clothing they had on. Their farmworkers were, in some instances, beaten and chased off…
