The last of Zimbabwe's white farmers given more time

by Kaitlin | February 6, 2007 at 10:50 am

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After reports last month that Zimbabwe is tragically short on crops (specifically staple foods like maize), the government has given the last group of white farmers more time before restoring the land to native black farmers.

A Zimbabwean minister has said the last white farmers can stay on their land long enough to harvest their crops even though a deadline has passed.

But Lands Minister Didymus Mutasa told the UN's Irin news agency that the farmers would still have to leave.

Many of Zimbabwe's remaining 400 white farmers were supposed to have left their farms at the weekend.

The seizure of some 4,000 white-owned farms has seen a collapse in Zimbabwe's agricultural production.

"We have, as a government, agreed to let them [white commercial farmers] stay put and wind up their businesses, at least until harvest time. It is then that they will be moving out and making way for our own people [black farmers], who urgently need land," Mr Mutasa said.

This is likely to mean the farmers can stay until August.