The outcomes of Zimbabwe's land reform had until recently remained contested. Critics of the fast track land reform process had argued that it resulted in dramatic fall in agricultural productivity (Richardson 2005) and that the new farmers lack the requisite farming skills. However, some scholars, notably Moyo et al. (2009), Scoones et al. (2010) and Hanlon et al. (2012), among others, have highlighted that the land reform was not a total failure as claimed, but that the new farmers are utilizing the land and that some are already accumulating from below. Empirical data gathered in the Mhondoro Ngezi District indicates that the outcomes of the land reform process are more nuanced and require an in-depth understanding of the dynamics that have shaped agricultural investments in the aftermath of land reform. These dynamics were influenced by a wide variety of factors which were often localized in character. To start with, it has been argued that ‘the benefits of programs which involve large-scale human resettlement are unlikely to become apparent in less than a generation’ (Kinsey and Binswanger 1993), suggesting that it is too early to make generalizations about the success or failure of the new farmers or the fast track land reform programme (FTLRP) at large given the fact that it is little more than a decade since its implementation. Data from the various empirical studies (Moyo et al. 2009; Scoones et al. 2010; Hanlon et al. 2012; Matondi 2012) indicate that a diversity of factors have influenced agricultural investments and land utilization in the aftermath of land reform.

First, the fast track land reform was implemented within a hyperinflationary socio-economic context under which the new farmers had to start from scratch often with very little, and sometimes no, government support in terms of inputs and other social services. Second, the new farmers came from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds; some were better endowed with productive resources to utilize the land such as livestock, ploughs, tractors and financial resources to hire labour. Such people were generally able to quickly clear the land and start their farming operations, build homes and hence generally became more successful in their new farming operations.