Medium-scale commercial agriculture and structural transformation in Zimbabwe: evidence for enhanced rural livelihoods
Date: Tuesday, 23 September 2025
Time: 13:00-14:00 SAST
Venue: Zoom
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Abstract
This study engages with the contribution of Zimbabwe’s medium-scale commercial farms to structural transformation, wealth creation, and enhanced livelihoods. Utilising field-based empirical evidence collected from rural Zimbabwe, the study employs a political economy framework as its conceptual foundation for analysis. The investigation reveals that medium-scale farms have re-emerged across Zimbabwe and the broader African continent following land and agricultural policy reforms. In contemporary Zimbabwe, a reconfigured agrarian structure, neoliberal policy trajectories and state emphasis on agricultural commercialisation are influencing these farms’ character and operations. The study explores the roles these farms play in production and social reproduction, examining their impact on income generation, commercialisation trajectories, investment patterns, and capital accumulation. Evidence suggests that these farms have the potential to contribute meaningfully to agricultural value chains, industrialisation, employment creation, and wealth generation. However, significant challenges remain in realising this potential for enhanced rural livelihoods. Comparative analysis indicates that medium-scale farms possess greater transformative capacity than smallholder operations. Nevertheless, questions persist regarding their ability to create consistently empowering land-based contexts for citizens. The study concludes that medium-scale commercial agriculture represents a promising yet dynamic pathway for addressing the persistent challenges of poverty and disenfranchisement across the African continent, offering valuable perspectives for agricultural development policy and rural transformation strategies.
Read the paper this lecture will be based on here.
Biography
Dr Clement Chipenda is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of South Africa’s College of Graduate Studies, contributing to the South African Research Chair in Social Policy. His research focuses on transformative social policy, agrarian political economy, and children’s rights. He co-investigates land reform and post-COVID social policy projects and co-edits volumes on African children’s rights and continental social policy discourse.
For queries, please email Joy van Dieman on jvandieman@plaas.org.za.
