An article is focused on agriculture and land allocation in Zimbabwe in times of a fast track land reform with a radical programme of land redistribution. The government plans to hand over to black Zimbabweans 95 percent of the 4500 farms currently under mostly white ownership. Unbalanced land distribution between a tiny elite deprives millions of black small-scale farmers of a crucial resource — the land. As land becomes increasing scarce small-scale farmers are managing to survive as subsistence farmers even if the soil is harsh for mass-scale "food farming" and rainfall is erratic. We witnessed a renaissance in a small-scale agriculture that is close linked-up with strengthen of traditional beliefs. Poor small-scale farmers are turning back to traditional farming techniques using natural resources. Successful farmers are producing enough food in unpleasant natural conditions. They are producing more on less land without expensive fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. They are proclaimed innovators.

Within the total 12 million population of Zimbabwe there is on one side the story of large-scale commercial farmers that accounts for less than 1 percent of population and own a third of the arable land. Since last February black Zimbabweans, the so-called war veterans from the country’s independence war, invaded and occupied white owned commercial farms which are mostly export orientated. The commercial farmers using relatively capital-intensive technologies were used to produce over 70 per cent of the value of agricultural output in most years and achieved high yields by international standards. Now-days their production is limited or completely arrested. Together with the remaining farm workers out of two million people living in farm-villages commercial farmers struggle to survive waiting for batter times they are announcing with next years’ presidential elections in Zimbabwe. In an article are included stories of tobacco growers, the family that is suffering a complete production stoppage, the Zimbabwean largest no-tillage wheat production, the stockbreeder destiny, the largest horticultural production for export to Europe, Australia and South Africa, and the sugar cane cutters.

As the opposition to the commercial, profitable, large-scale and capital-intensive agriculture the poor black Zimbabweans continue the Chimurenga — historical battle for the land — awakening the relationship between the social, natural and spiritual worlds. The Association of Zimbabwe Traditional Environmental Conservations (AZTEC) is a local NGO that revives and develops an indigenous knowledge and cosmovision, which should result in community-based development, sustainable agriculture and natural resource management. At the moment they are implementing their vision of the solution to the land conflict between the colonisation successors and the natives in the Charumbira community in Masvingo where they developed the Zimuto cultural village. They are reinforcing the role of traditional and spiritual leaders, since they are the authentic custodians of the indigenous knowledge and of the land.

An article includes the stories listed below:

The story of two commercial tobacco producers (the names are invented due to the request of the farmers for protection of the source): Larry lost one farm with the land reform and is limited in production on the other farm but he planted in September 60 hectares of tobacco under irrigation. He planted borrowed saplings from the neighbouring growers because squatters unable him to produce his own saplings. Larry is lending part of his land to the neighbour Garry because his land is occupied, squatters are living on he’s property and he is suffering a complete stoppage of production. Garry is living with son surrounded with an electric fence and armed guards at the gate. Tobacco growing is the most intensive agricultural production per hectare and we witnessed the work of the "human planting machine" in the field and follow the workers sorting, humidifying, pressing tobacco and preparing bales for sale on the tobacco auction floor. One morning we visited the farm workers village on the farm. After we left the farm the squatters, suspicious what foreign journalists were doing at the commercial farm, stopped the production, Larry reported.

Hinton estate — the largest wheat production — 1200 hectares of weath under irrigation — they are using no-tillage production pattern and are producing more than ten tonnes of weath per hectare. We visited the farm during harvest time. The squatters are on the property, and the farm is on the resetlement list. The future of Hinton estate is unpredictable, maybe we saw for the last time the ªgolden sea´ valley.

Hippo Valley — Sugar cane cutters. Daily 88 cutters cut down 12 hectares of sugar cane. They work from 6 am to 5 pm. Every cutter paid monthly 58 Zimbabwean dollars (Z $) for living in a workers village, additional 55 Z $ for a wife, and half of the price of an adult for every child, he has also other monthly deductions for health care, for pension,….at the end of the month each of the cutters gets: ªPeanuts.´

The stockbreeder. Before lend reform started and settlers occupied his farm two years ago he owned 7000 hectares of land and rented additional 1200 hectares. He got 3000 head of beef cattle and breeding cattle. Now he is keeping only 350 head on a very limited area and is feeding them once a day to keep them alive. He is running out of feeding stuff. He estimated his remaining property between 20 and 25 millions of Zimbabwean dollars. It was 454.500 US $ at the official exchange rate at the end of September and only 83.300 US $ at the unofficial exchange rate. There is no willing buyer of the land and no willing seller at that time in Zimbabwe.

His neighbours harvested last wheat in 1999. Since than they tried to plant maize, wheat and paprica but squatters stoped them during preparation of the land, destroyed the machinery and stole the irrigation sistem. The family become poor. They don’t make plans for the future, except to get throught this hard times. The son wants to continue with farming.

Butler Farm has 57 hectares of flowerbed and is the largest producer of roses in Zimbabwe. At the farm they employ 3000 workers. They produce 140 million steams of roses and a little of carnations. Farm workers arrested flower production in August and were on strike for five weeks. They requested a 200 percent increase of salary. Butler Farm is listed for resettlement. "Because we are export oriented, we hope we will be delisted," the general manager Rick Kershaw said. When we buy eight roses we squander worker’s monthly salary.

AZTREC / Zimuto Village / Shona tradition / Traditional healers / Resettlement / Organic farming

From time immemorial Shona people believe in tripartite relationship of the human, the natural and the spiritual world. The living depends heavily on the spiritual world for guidance. That’s the reason they build the Sacred Village in the Zimuto cultural village, where chiefs and spirit mediums, headmen and village heads meet to discuss or attend traditional ceremonies and rituals. Snuff is used as a medium for communication with the world of spirits. Traditional healers are acting under the direction of healing spirits and with the aid of their power. The Shona believe that any persistent trouble or anxiety is likely to be interpreted in terms of this relationship. Sickness is the most common trouble within the local community. In the same way they understand aids epidemic or land degradation. The solution is the turn back to the indigenous tradition. That’s the reason they shifted to natural farming system. They encourage each other to utilize locally available organic soil and enrichment materials such cattle, goat and sheep manure, ant-hill soil, crop residues, compost and humus from hill tops and under trees. They practice intercroping to reduce the effects of drought. They train settlers on the resettled farms non-conventional crop production techniques which are integrated with organic farming system.