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President Mugabe launched the long-awaited A1 settlement permit in Mhangura, Mashonaland West, on Wednesday.
The documents that he presented to 79 farmers newly resettled at Chifundi and Emily Park farms perform two fundamental functions, the absence of which retarded production and, to some, created an element of insecurity.  Firstly, the permit asserts farmers’ security and ownership of the land they acquired in the Third Chimurenga.

Government is mindful of the fact that security of tenure alone on fallow land which cannot be cultivated because a farmer is ill-equipped to do so is not good enough. Therefore, the permit was drafted in such a way that it can also be presented as collateral when a farmer decides to borrow to fund his operations, which is key function two.   Farmers’ land is not “dead capital” anymore, as advocates of private land rights used to say in condemning our land reform programme.

But the permit is not commercially transferable.  Farmers will have limited transfer rights though.  The plots can be handed down to surviving spouses or children of initial, direct beneficiaries through inheritance in case they die. The licence is specific to a given piece of land and bears a map of the allocated plot and details of the beneficiaries, and their spouses.

The certificates come eight years after the government launched 99-year leases for A2 farmers.

We share the joy of the 79 who danced and ululated when the President handed out the permits to them on Wednesday.

There was a fear that a document that provides security of tenure and can be offered as collateral could be misused by financial institutions, working in collusion with aggrieved white former farmers, to orchestrate a reversal of the land reforms.  But with President Mugabe making it clear that the permit cannot be transferred, even when a farmer can borrow against it, we are confident that this creates the necessary confidence among the 79 initial recipients and more of the 162,750 farmers resettled under the A1 model who expect to get theirs as time goes on.  He said the A1 resettlement permits will complement the 99-year leases in securitising the land.

“Following the successful implementation of our land reform programme,” he said, “today’s event is appropriately akin to putting the icing on the cake.  Today, we indeed celebrate the emancipation and empowerment of our people as we unveil the A1 settlement permits.”

Permit holders will enjoy many benefits since the certificates confer more security and flexibility if they decide to use them to seek loans, but the positive factors are greater. That the President said the permit would be given only to those who are productive and have built physical infrastructure on their plots must encourage those without it to strive to qualify to secure it.

For those who have the permit, we see them ramping up production now that they are assured the land is theirs for ever. Of course they knew that Section 72 of the Constitution guarantees the irreversibility of the land reforms and that their government was always ready to defend and promote their right to the resource, but farmers could not access loans on the basis of a constitution or political support.

A1 farmers have been doing wonders with limited resources. Many of them tend to be poorer, compared to their A2 counterparts who have to show proof of means for them to be offered farms. Most new commercial farmers frequently have alternative properties like homes in towns to borrow against while others are well-resourced businesspeople and professionals. So access to credit was better for them. Now A1 farmers would be able to access much more than government inputs and welfare assistance from NGOs.

Going forward, A1 farmers can look beyond increasing production but more importantly, productivity thanks to the permit that broadens possibilities for support.

Research and experience have proved that weak land rights result in tenure insecurity, poor land management, land degradation, reduced land productivity and food insecurity whereas stronger land rights are an incentive to invest, lead to tenure security, reduced land degradation, increased land productivity and food security. The new permit is likely to deepen these advantages.

Credit institutions and equipment suppliers now know that they can advance financial support or other inputs such as tractors, with an understanding that they will not lose their investment if the farmer fails to pay back. Furthermore, it boosts creditors’ business since more permit holders would be emboldened to approach them for support.

The document is certainly a stimulus to be felt at the level of the individual farmer, agri-business and the economy as a whole. Government focus must now be on fulfilling its pledge to draft a bankable 99-year lease that gives security of tenure for farmers and is acceptable to lending institutions as guarantee with no chance the document could be abused to reverse the Third Chimurenga.

But tenure documents are not the only necessary stimulus.  Existing public and private sector interventions in the form of material inputs like seed and fertilizer plus skills training and extension services have to continue and be deepened.