Ian Scoones
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Why livestock can be good for the environment
In places like Zimbabwe livestock production is integral to mixed farming systems and in the drier areas.
By Ian Scoones
Jan. 24, 2023
How some tractors, dead lions met in Harare: A new geopolitics in Africa?
In exchange, Zimbabwe received US$66m worth of agricultural equipment for the agricultural mechanisation programme, notably tractors made at the famous former Soviet plant in Belarus.
By Ian Scoones
Feb. 12, 2023
Feature: Phases of Zim’s land reform: A shifting political economy
The invasion and establishment phase emerged of course in part as a consequence of the constitutional referendum of 2000.
By Ian Scoones
Mar. 21, 2023
Robin Palmer: The original land campaigner and scholar activist
Robin travelled to what was then Southern Rhodesia in 1960 to pursue an undergraduate degree at University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
By Ian Scoones
Mar. 31, 2023
Zim’s land resettlement experience
With the end of the strictures imposed by Lancaster House Agreement in 1990, it was possible for the state to acquire land and the Land Acquisition Act was passed in 1992.
By Ian Scoones
Apr. 6, 2023
The ‘hidden middle’: the transformation of agri-food systems in Africa
Tom Reardon, lead author of the AGRA and IFAD reports that have highlighted this phenomenon so effectively, argued at a launch event
By Ian Scoones
Apr. 18, 2023
Maize markets in Zim: A complex web of hidden activity
Maize is central to a complex web of small-scale businesses supporting production, transport, processing and marketing.
By Ian Scoones
Apr. 30, 2023
Rethinking African developement
Facing up to uncertainty is at the heart of all these challenges
By Ian Scoones
Jun. 9, 2023
The poultry value web in Zim
Agrodealers and veterinary supplies merchants are vital for poultry production, as diseases are common, especially among the more highly bred varieties.
By Ian Scoones
Jun. 23, 2023
Booming horticulture markets: A growing ‘hidden middle’
The large-scale, commercial horticulture sector took a knock as farms were redistributed, although some have persisted and maintained their markets.
By Ian Scoones
Jul. 21, 2023
Zimbabwe’s disputed election: why resource politics matter
Proof of rigging requires the cross-checking of the infamous V11 forms, but these have not yet all been provided.
By Ian Scoones
Oct. 1, 2023
Appropriate agriculture machinery in Zimbabwe: the vital role of rural innovation and service hubs
In the past, the support for mechanisation was focused on big, high-tech and expensive machines – the classic tractors, combines or centre pivot irrigation systems.
By Ian Scoones
Dec. 17, 2023
Why financing agric in Zim needs a rethink
In Zimbabwe however, beyond a few small donor-led projects, micro-finance has not taken off to the same extent.
By Ian Scoones
Jan. 19, 2024
The changing remittance economy in Zim
Remittances also flow internally within the country, from people working in town in government jobs or in businesses of different sorts.
By Ian Scoones
Feb. 4, 2024
Financing agric in Zim: What are the challenges, opportunities?
But remittances are not assured, as conditions change at migrant destinations, whether through Covid-19 restrictions, economic depression or xenophobic violence.
By Ian Scoones
Feb. 16, 2024
Land reform changed livelihoods
An important strand of work complements the studies of land-based agricultural livelihoods after land reform and focuses on the intersections of farming and artisanal mining.
By Ian Scoones
Feb. 23, 2024
Changing ideas of belonging and identity in post-land reform Zim
They argue that “ethno-regionalism was inevitable in the small-scale A1 farms, since it mainly resettled peasants near their communal areas of origin.
By Ian Scoones
Mar. 8, 2024
The politics of Zim’s land reform: winners and losers
This had important echoes of what happened during the colonial land distribution process.
By Ian Scoones
Mar. 31, 2024
El Niño drought hits Zim hard
This year, through a very uneven season, farmers have tried and tried to get a crop.
By Ian Scoones
Apr. 9, 2024
El Niño drought hits Zimbabwe hard
We have known that this was going to be an El Niño season for many months.
By Ian Scoones
Apr. 21, 2024
Perspectives: Zimbabwe as the new carbon frontier: Dangers ahead
This came to light just before the global climate summit in Dubai, COP28, and supposedly showed how seriously the petrostate was taking the climate challenge.
By Ian Scoones
Apr. 28, 2024
The World Bank and land: Some questions
The report observes, “large farm establishment failed to create jobs and had little effect on smallholders’ access to technology or input and insurance markets while often competing for land.
By Ian Scoones
Jun. 7, 2024
Will the UK election bring a new direction in Africa?
In collaboration with partners, the UK could once again become a leader in development thinking and practice, providing new approaches while reviving older ones.
By Ian Scoones
Jul. 12, 2024
The UK election: new development priorities in Africa?
Although many are making comparisons with the big Labour majority of 1997 when Tony Blair swept to power, today is a very different context.
By Ian Scoones
Jul. 14, 2024
Land tenure reform in Africa: Why customary systems are important
Despite the grand claims around tenure reform interventions involving land demarcation, registration and certification, the outcomes are more ambiguous.
By Ian Scoones
Jul. 28, 2024
Uncertainities: How to navigate successfully
Uncertainties are everywhere. But how can we navigate them successfully?
By Ian Scoones
Sep. 6, 2024
Private sector-led transformation in Zimbabwe: Can agriculture drive growth?
The main constraint identified is macroeconomic instability, which hampers the unlocking of private sector potential as an engine of economic growth.
By Ian Scoones
Oct. 13, 2024
Too many barriers to success for former farmworkers in Zimbabwe
‘Success’ is limited by a set of major structural constraints that individuals cannot overcome by themselves.
By Ian Scoones
Jun. 8, 2025
Accumulating and investing: Trajectories of change in Zim’s land reform areas
There is no simple pattern and there have been diverse outcomes following land reform — some succeeding, some failing and many somewhere in between and varying over time.
By Ian Scoones and Tapiwa Chatikobo
Jul. 10, 2025
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Temba Mliswa: Zimbabwe’s most accomplished political opportunist or man of principle?
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Nov. 2, 2025
