Malvern Kudakwashe Marewo has published this article in Africa Review.
Abstract: This article examines how small-scale (A1 villagised model) farmers in Zimbabwe’s Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) are using social capital as a form of resilience in the context of an economic precarity. With limited state support, fiscal instability and the near absence of formal financial and institutional assistance, small-scale farmers have reconfigured their social relations into vital mechanisms of production and survival. Using a case study from Zvimba District and qualitative research methods for this work, conducted between 2017 and 2022, the article argues that where traditional avenues to access financial resources are limited, farmers strategically use their social networks and relationships to secure and access seeds, agrarian labour and agricultural production support. The study’s findings demonstrate that reliance on social networks and relationships underscores social capital’s essential role in building resilience and sustaining livelihoods amid economic hardship.
Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1163/09744061-bja10331
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