Farmers defy order to leave land

Most white farmers in Zimbabwe remained on their property on Friday, waiting to see if the government would enforce the deadline to seize their property and hand it over to landless blacks. "About 60 percent of farmers have decided to stay on their land and continue working as normal. Ten percent have taken a long weekend and the rest have simply packed up and left for fear of their lives," Jenni Williams, spokeswoman for Justice for Agriculture (JAG), told IRIN. Williams added that most of the farmers intended to stay on their farms and were legally contesting the eviction orders. Those who had already left had moved to nearby towns or neighbouring countries, Williams said. Close to 3,000 farmers under the Section 8 controversial Land Acquisition Act had until midnight Thursday to down tools and leave their properties or face a fine of US $375 or two years in jail, or both. Although there were no reports of any immediate government reaction, Vice-President Joseph Msika said that defiant farmers would face the full wrath of the law, local newspaper, The Independent reported. Since the first state-driven farm invasions began in February 2000, a total of 13 farmers and about 40 farm workers have been murdered and about 70,000 farm workers have been forced into homelessness, Williams said. Williams said: "It is obviously a very tense time in our history but from speaking to farmers and their families, many are intent on securing their assets. It is really a wait and see situation." Western donors and aid agencies have slammed President Robert Mugabe's fast-track land reform programme saying that the government's haphazard approach to the land re-distribution had contributed to current food crisis in the country. A World Food Programme (WFP) report said disruptions to farming saw agricultural production drop dramatically. Combined with drought and rising food prices, this left up to six million Zimbabweans facing hunger and the cash-strapped government unable to buy the stock needed to fill the food gaps.