Large-scale farms left idle across Zimbabwe face a proposed annual levy of US$50/ha, roughly R825/ha, under a plan from Parliament’s Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
Felix Maburutse, chairperson of the committee, presented the proposal during Parliament’s 2027 pre-budget seminar held in Bulawayo from October 28 to 31, Farmer’s Weekly SA reported. The fee would apply to underutilised properties lacking valid justification and would increase for every successive year the land remains dormant.
Revenue generated from the levy would be ring-fenced to support agricultural extension, land development, irrigation, and rural infrastructure. “Exemptions should apply in cases of drought, genuine financial hardship, and other legitimate circumstances,” Felix Maburutse, chairperson of the committee, said.
Cost recovery efforts should also be enhanced through more effective collection of surveying, registration, and land administration fees, alongside modernised digital payment systems. Progress regarding the issuance of farm title deeds and compensating commercial farmers displaced during the country’s land reform programme remains slow, according to the presentation.
Performance metrics for the 2026 budget year showed 1 479 land title deeds issued against a target of 2 500. Officials surveyed 2 696 farms for title deed purposes against a target of 2 500, while compensation payments reached US$30,75 million, about R507 million, against an ambitious target of US$896,64 million, roughly R14,8 billion.
Economist Eddie Cross criticized the proposed fee structure when speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, arguing that charging US$50/ha on idle land is an exorbitant sum that would prove impossible to collect. Cross questioned the enforcement mechanisms if payments stalled, noting that repossession and reallocation would spark intense political controversy.
“Attempts to charge US$50/ha of underutilised land, which is a totally exorbitant sum of money, would be impossible. It would not be paid,” Cross told Farmer’s Weekly.
Cross maintained that issuing secure title deeds to land reform beneficiaries would resolve the underlying productivity bottlenecks more effectively than punitive taxation. Such titles would allow both large- and small-scale farmers to borrow capital against their land for agricultural redevelopment.
Farmers wishing to exit the sector could subsequently sell their properties to productive operators through formal channels, yielding better long-term industry impacts. Authorities previously attempted to tackle dormant land in 2020 by launching a joint venture initiative linking resource-poor beneficiaries with outside investors.
Farmer Dan Burger, involved in 13 joint venture farms in the Midlands Province, previously outlined reasons for underutilisation, citing shortfalls in funding, limited technical knowledge, and occasional lack of interest.
