Land, the State and the Unfinished Decolonisation Project in Africa : Essays in Honour of Professor Sam Moyo

This book focuses on the work of one of the leading African scholars on the land question and agrarian transformation in Africa—Sam Moyo. It offers a critical discussion, in conversation with Sam Moyo, of the land question and the response of African states. Since independence, African states have been trying to address the colonial legacy on land policy and governance. After six decades of formulating and implementing land reforms, most countries have not succeeded in decolonising approaches to land policy and the administrative framework. The book brings together the broader debates on the implications of decolonisation of Africa’s land policy. Through case studies from several African countries, the book offers an empirical analysis on land reforms and the emerging land relations, and how these affect land allocation and use, including agricultural production. Most of the chapters discuss how the unresolved land question in post-colonial Africa impacts on agricultural production and rural development broadly. The failure to decolonise colonial land policy and the imported tenure systems has left post-colonial African states dancing to two tunes, resulting in schizophrenic land and agrarian policies. The book demonstrates that the failure by African states to reconcile imported and indigenous land tenure systems and practices is evident in the deliberate denigration of customary tenure. It is also evident in the rising land inequality and the neglect of the agricultural sector, the small-scale and subsistence sub-sectors in particular. Cover 1 Title page 2 Copyright page 3 List of Contributors 4 Contents 8 Preface. The State and the Land Question in Africa: The Unfinished Business 10 Introduction 10 Africa’s Land Question 12 Land Tenure Dualism: A Reminder of Partial Decolonisation 13 The Task for African Scholars 14 Notes 16 Acknowledgement 17 Chapter 1 - Perspectives on “African Potentials” 18 Introduction 18 The Southern African Conflict Regime: Violence and Disarticulation 20 Three Predominant Perspectives on African Conflicts 22 African Potentials: An Alternative Approach? 24 Structural Violence and Accumulation Trajectories in Africa 27 African Potentials in History 30 Conclusion: Future Collaboration with Regard to African Potentials 33 Notes 34 Acknowledgements 35 References 35 Chapter 2 - The Land Question and the Economy: Cues of an Incomplete Decolonisation Project in Africa 38 Introduction 38 Land in the Colonial and Decolonial Projects 40 Decolonisation and Coloniality 42 The Postcolonial African States and the Decolonial Project 48 Decolonisation and the Land Question in Africa 52 Distorted Conception of Land 54 Colonial DNA on Africa’s Land 57 Decolonising African Economies 60 Conclusion 65 Notes 66 Acknowledgements 66 References 66 Chapter 3 - Corporate Power, the State, and the Post-Capitalist Future 72 Introduction 72 Corporate Concentration and Control 74 The State and the Corporates 77 The Revolving Door 78 Election Funding 81 The Financial-Security Complex and the ‘Deep State’ 83 The Future out of the Present 85 State Capture in Africa 89 Another Future? 92 Acknowledgements 93 Notes 94 References 95 Chapter 4 - Policy-Oriented Rural Development in China and its Potential Influence on Rural Development in Africa 100 Introduction 100 Changes in Rural Development Policies in China 102 Rural Development in China after the Rural Economic Reforms 104 Some Problems on China’s Rural Development Experience 106 The Potential Influence of China’s Rural Development on African Countries 109 Conclusion 113 Acknowledgements 114 References 114 Chapter 5 - Agricultural Land-Delivery Systems on Zimbabwe: A Review of Four Decades of Sam Moyo’s Work on Agricultural Land Markets and their Constraints 118 Introduction 118 Land in Context 121 Land Supply and Demand 125 Land Markets and Reform Policies, 1997–2010 131 Fast Track Land Reform Program (2000–2010) 135 Emerging Land Markets after the FTLRP 146 Land Tenure Issues after FTLRP 149 Conclusions 152 Acknowledgements 154 References 154 Chapter 6 - Cleaning the House, Greening the Farm: Reverse Thinking and “African Potentials” to Combat Desertification in Sahel Region, West Africa 160 Introduction 160 Hausa Society and the Natural Environment of the Sahel 163 Life in a Hausa Village 167 Severe Drought and Collective Memory 172 Land Degradation and Restoration of Farmland 173 Greening Techniques Born From the Hardship of Drought and Famine 181 Harkuki: Local Logic Backing Desertification and Revegetation 183 Land Restoration and Greening Trials Based on Local Practices 185 Conclusion 189 Acknowledgements 190 Notes 191 References 191 Chapter 7 - Reactions of Peasants to Global Capital in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of Tobacco Contract Farming in Mashonaland East Province 196 Introduction 196 The Peasantization of the Tobacco Industry 198 Contract Farming: The Agricultural Finance Solution? 206 Peasants’ Perceptions of Global Capital 213 Dynamics of Rural Tabacco Market 217 Conclusion 223 Notes 224 Acknowledgements 226 References 226 Chapter 8 - Opportunities and Constraints for Black Farming in a Former South African Homeland: A Case Study of The Mooi River Irrigation Scheme, Msinga, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa 230 Introduction 230 Constraints of Black Farming, the “Accumulation From Below” and Rural Differentiation in the Southern African Context 232 Mooi River Irrigation Scheme and Research Methodology 237 Characteristics of Black Farmers in the Mooi River Irrigation Scheme 239 Land Access and Rental in the Irrigation Scheme 242 Production Processes and Market Forces 246 Crop Selection and Profitability 249 Farmers’ Views on Agricultural Problems 252 Farmer Diversity 254 Conclusion 257 Acknowledgements 261 Notes 262 References 265 Chapter 9 - An Assessment of the Cameroonian Government’s Role in the Mbororo Land Struggle in the Northwest Region 270 Introduction 270 Chapter Outline 271 Background: Access to Land in Africa 272 Cameroonian Land Tenure Profile 275 Mbororo Land Struggles in the Northwest Region 278 Mbororo-Church Land Dispute 280 The Role of the State in Mbororo-Catholic Church Land Dispute 285 Conclusion 293 Acknowledgment 294 References 295 Documents 299 Chapter 10 - From Friends to Strangers? Social Capital and the Fast Track Land Reform Programme of Zimbabwe 300 Introduction 300 Theoretical Debates about Social Capital 301 The Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) and the A1 Villagised Model 303 Contested Outcomes of the FTLRP 306 The Role of Social Capital in the FTLRP 308 The Rouxdale (R/E) Farm Case Study 310 Critique of the A1 Villagised Model 314 Discussion 324 Conclusion 325 References 326 Chapter 11 - Land Reform, Belonging and Social Relations: Probing the Linkages between Communal Areas and A1 Villagised Settlements in Zvimba District, Zimbabwe 332 Introduction 332 Background 334 Belonging: Conceptual Issues 335 The Land Question in Zimbabwe 337 Land Occupations under Fast Track Land Reform Programme 339 Linkages between A1 and Communal Areas in Zvimba 343 Discussion 353 Conclusion 355 Acknowledgements 355 Notes 356 References 356 Chapter 12 - Land Contestations after Fast Track Land Reform Programme: Emerging Land Tenure Challenges in Zimbabwe 364 Introduction 364 Sam Moyo’s Contribution to Scholarship on Land in Zimbabwe 365 Land Tenure from a Historical Perspective 366 Land Tenure Systems in Zimbabwe 369 Emerging Pressures on Land after FTLRP 372 Land Contestations after FTLRP 373 Land Tenure Challenges after FTLRP: Evidence from Mazowe 377 Towards A Secure Land Tenure System 386 Conclusion 387 References 388 Chapter 13 - The Legacy of Steve Biko and the Japanese Social Movements 394 Setting the Scenes 394 Negation and Self-Negation 396 Contradictions among the People 398 Return to the Source 400 Concluding Remarks 404 References 405 Back cover 407