Zimbabwe to return 67 farms seized under Mugabe-era land reforms

Zimbabwe will return 67 foreign-owned commercial farms that were seized during the country’s controversial land reform programme under former president Robert Mugabe, the agriculture said Friday.

The government says the farms belonged to foreign nationals from Denmark, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, and were protected under bilateral investment agreements.

The move is part of Harare's wider effort to rebuild relations with Western countries and international lenders after years of isolation.

More than 400 white farmers would be allowed to buy back all or part of their farms, Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said in a statement.

A further 840 farms belonging to black Zimbabweans will be restored to their owners, he said.

The land seizures, which began in the early 2000s, were presented as an attempt to address colonial-era land inequalities. But they also triggered a collapse in commercial agriculture, food shortages, soaring inflation and a deep economic crisis.

The policy also triggered sanctions, deepening the country's economic isolation by limiting its access to the international banking system.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took power in 2017 after Mugabe’s fall, has been trying to restore ties with international partners. Resolving the land dispute is seen as a key step toward restructuring Zimbabwe’s debt and regaining access to global financing.

As of September 2025, Zimbabwe’s external debt stood at $13.6 billion , including $7.7 billion in arrears.

Authorities also say former farm owners will receive $146 million in compensation. That is separate from a broader 2020 compensation deal worth $3.5 billion for about 4,500 white farmers affected by the land reform program.

But despite these commitments, Zimbabwe still faces major financial constraints, and progress on payments has been slow.