IMF warns against destruction of agriculture

Paulo Neuhaus, the African regional director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday called on the Zimbabwean government of President Robert Mugabe to carry out the land reform programme in a lawful and transparent way so as to avoid damage to the country’s agricultural sector.

Writing in ‘The Farmer’ magazine in Zimbabwe, Neuhaus said the food security situation might be threatened if the land resettlement exercise was not carried out in a “lawful and transparent way”. Commenting on the government’s resolve to acquire more than 3,041 white farms under a “fast track” programme, Neuhaus warned: “The move might bring about disastrous consequences for agriculture and the economy. There could be a production decrease of some crops like tobacco.” Neuhaus added that there was no change in the IMF’s position on the land programme, which he said remained that the resettlement be clearly planned and implemented in a transparent and lawful manner.