Determinants of Informal Land Renting Decisions by A1 and A2 Farmers in Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe

  • Simbarashe Tatsvarei Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Fort Hare, South Africa
  • Abbyssinia Mushunje 1Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Fort Hare, South Africa
  • Saul Ngarava Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Fort Hare, South Africa
  • Clifton Makate Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
Keywords: Land rentals; A1 and A2 model; bivariate to bit regression; Zimbabwe

Abstract

Land rental markets are critical in developing economies as they contribute to efficiency, equity and welfare gains to farmers involved under conditions of low transaction costs. Despite lack of policy consistency in Zimbabwe, A1 and A2 farmers have been involved in these land rental markets, albeit in an informal manner. This study sought to establish the determinants of farmers’ decision to take part in these informal markets. A survey was carried out in Mashonaland East province with a sample of 339 households selected through multi-stage sampling methods and data analysed using a bi-variate Tobit model. Results showed that combined together, the proportion of farmers involved in informal land rental markets are as much as those not participating. Determinants of renting-in were identified as gender, household income, permanent labour, cultivated area, tenure certainty, irrigable land size and crop diversification. Factors affecting renting-out decisions were age, permanent labour, irrigable land size and crop diversification and these results are not in any way different from findings from previous studies. The conclusion was that household characteristics and land endowments factors were strong in decisions to rent-in land while land endowments factors were dominant in decisions to rent-out land. Any future considerations for formalising land rental markets should consider these important factors having a bearing on land rental decisions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Amare, A. & Beyene, F. (2015). Determinants of Household Participation in Land Rental Markets in Amigna District, Arsi Zone of Oromiya Region , Ethiopia. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 31(1), 21–42.
Awasthi, M. K. (2009). Dynamics and resource use efficiency of agricultural land sales and rental market in India. Land Use Policy, 26(3), 736–743.
Bert, F. et al. (2015). Simulating agricultural land rental markets by combining agent-based models with traditional economics concepts: The case of the Argentine Pampas. Environmental Modelling and Software, 71, 97–110.
Bizimana, C. (2011). Determinants of land rental markets: Theory and econometric evidence from rural Rwanda. Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics, 3(4), 183–189.
Chamberlin, J. & Ricker-Gilbert, J. (2013). Participation in Rural Land Rental Markets in Sub-saharan Africa: Who Benefits and by How Much? Evidence from Malawi and Zambia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 1–33.
Deininger, K., Jin, S. & Nagarajan, H. K. (2008). Efficiency and equity impacts of rural land rental restrictions: Evidence from India. European Economic Review, 52(5), 892–918.
Feng, S. (2008). Land rental, off-farm employment and technical efficiency of farm households in Jiangxi Province, China. NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 55(4), 363–378.
Government of Zimbawe. (2016). Finance Bill, 2016, Zimbabwe: Government Gazette.
Hoken, H. (2012). Development of Land Rental Market and its Effect on Household Farming in Rural China: An Empirical Study in Zhejiang Province Hisat, Tokyo.
Holden, S. (2013). Efficiency and Productivity Differential Effects of Land Certification Program in Ethiopia, Norway.
Hou, J., Huo, X. & Yin, R. (2017). Land rental market participation and its impact on fixed investment and household welfare: Evidence from Chinese apple production sites. Sustainability (Switzerland), 9(11).
Kimura, S. et al. (2011). Efficiency of Land Allocation through Tenancy Markets: Evidence from China. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 59(3), 485–510.
Lefever, S., Dal, M. & Matthíasdóttir, Á. (2007). Online data collection in academic research: Advantages and limitations. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(4), 574–582.
Mahari Tikabo, Stein Holden, O. B. (2011). Factor Market Imperfections and Land Rental Market in the Highlands of Eritrea : Theory and Evidence. Revised for Land economics, (October).
Masterson, T. (2007). Working Paper No . 491 Land Rental and Sales Markets in Paraguay by, New York.
Matondi, P. B. & Dekker, M. (2011). Land rights and tenure security in Zimbabwe’s post fast track Land Reform Programme., (March), p.47.
Moyo, S. (2007). Land in the Political Economy of African Development : Alternative Strategies for Reform, XXXII(4), 1–34.
Moyo, S. & Chambati, W. (2013). Introduction : Roots of the Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe. In S. Moyo & W. Chambati, eds. Land and Agrarian Reform in Zimbabwe: Beyond White-Settler Capitalism. Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA, 1–28.
Nyangena, W. (2014). Determinants of Household Participation in Land Rental Markets in Rural Kenya, Nairobi.
Rahman, S. (2010). Determinants of agricultural land rental market transactions in Bangladesh. Land Use Policy, 27(3), 957–964.
Reid, J. D. (2016). The Theory of Share Tenancy Revisited--Again Author ( s ): Joseph D . Reid , Jr . Published by : The University of Chicago Press Stable URL : http://www.jstor.org/stable/1830800 Accessed : 19-04-2016 11 : 36 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates you, 85(2), 403–407.
Scoones, I. et al. (2011). Journal of Peasant Studies Zimbabwe â€TM s land reform : challenging the myths. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 38(5), 967–993.
Shifa, M. (2016). Determinants of Land and Labour Market Participation Decisions in Rural Ethiopia. Journal of African Development, 18(2), 73–90.
Vranken, L. & Swinnen, J. (2006). Land rental markets in transition: Theory and evidence from Hungary. World Development, 34(3), 481–500.
Zimbabwe National Statistic Agency. (2012). Provincial report: Mashonaland Central, Harare.
Published
2018-12-22
How to Cite
Tatsvarei, S., Mushunje, A., Ngarava, S., & Makate, C. (2018). Determinants of Informal Land Renting Decisions by A1 and A2 Farmers in Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 10(6(J), 70-78. https://doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v10i6(J).2595
Section
Research Paper