This includes 19 farms owned by South Africans, 61 owned by Mauritians, 43 by Germans, 41 by the Dutch, 28 by Swiss citizens, 26 by Italians, and five by Americans.
The document confirms that since 2000, 6214 farms of a total of 10.8-million hectares have been seized by the state – 70% of the 15.5-million hectares of large commercial farmland that existed in 1980. Most of these farms were “awarded” to Mugabe’s family and comrades, many of whom now “own” multiple farms.
Once the pride of sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe’s farming sector has shrunk alarmingly while rampant inflation that peaked at 500-billion percent a year ago forced the government to abandon Zimbabwe’s currency in favour of the US dollar in February.
In 2000 Zimbabwe produced two million tons of maize, but this was down to 450 000 tons last year.
Tobacco production has plummeted from 244000 tons to 40 000 tons.
This is partly because the number of commercial farmers has shrunk radically from 4 500 in 2000 to 400.
Post published in: News