The farmers’ legal team served notice on President Robert Mugabe; the Minister of State in the Office of the President; Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement, Douglas Mombeshora; the Minister of Finance, Patrick Chinamasa; and the Zimbabwean government earlier in August.

The notice was served under the Southern African Community Development Community’s (SADC) protocol on finance and investment.

“Our dispossessed Zimbabwean farmers have been wronged,” said SADC Tribunal Rights Watch spokesperson, Ben Freeth.

Freeth said the farmers have a final and binding 2008 judgement from the SADC Tribunal, which ordered the Zimbabwe government to pay fair compensation for land it had expropriated.

The government has failed to comply with the order. Freeth added that unless accountability deepened, “no investment will take place in our country” and the economic crisis would worsen. He said that without property rights and the rule of law, Zimbabwe’s negative trajectory as a failed state would accelerate.

The finance and investment protocol, which came into force in April 2010, offers all SADC investors legal protections, which include the right to prompt, adequate and effective compensation with respect to expropriated investments, and to fair and equitable treatment, including protection against denial of justice.

In the case of investments seized in violation of the protocol, the first step to settle the dispute is through dialogue. If there is no settlement, the next step is arbitration.

At the SADC Summit in 2012, the SADC heads of state restricted regional citizens’ access to the SADC Tribunal, denying citizens legal recourse, regardless of their countries’ policies.

The SADC heads of state resolved that a new protocol on the tribunal be negotiated and its mandate confined to interpretation of the SADC treaty and protocols relating to disputes between member states.

In May 2017, SADC heads of state signed an amendment to the protocol that aimed to stop investors from seeking redress through it.

The farmers’ legal team served notice on President Robert Mugabe; the Minister of State in the Office of the President; Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement, Douglas Mombeshora; the Minister of Finance, Patrick Chinamasa; and the Zimbabwean government earlier in August.

The notice was served under the Southern African Community Development Community’s (SADC) protocol on finance and investment.

“Our dispossessed Zimbabwean farmers have been wronged,” said SADC Tribunal Rights Watch spokesperson, Ben Freeth.

Freeth said the farmers have a final and binding 2008 judgement from the SADC Tribunal, which ordered the Zimbabwe government to pay fair compensation for land it had expropriated.

The government has failed to comply with the order. Freeth added that unless accountability deepened, “no investment will take place in our country” and the economic crisis would worsen. He said that without property rights and the rule of law, Zimbabwe’s negative trajectory as a failed state would accelerate.

The finance and investment protocol, which came into force in April 2010, offers all SADC investors legal protections, which include the right to prompt, adequate and effective compensation with respect to expropriated investments, and to fair and equitable treatment, including protection against denial of justice.

In the case of investments seized in violation of the protocol, the first step to settle the dispute is through dialogue. If there is no settlement, the next step is arbitration.

At the SADC Summit in 2012, the SADC heads of state restricted regional citizens’ access to the SADC Tribunal, denying citizens legal recourse, regardless of their countries’ policies.

The SADC heads of state resolved that a new protocol on the tribunal be negotiated and its mandate confined to interpretation of the SADC treaty and protocols relating to disputes between member states.

In May 2017, SADC heads of state signed an amendment to the protocol that aimed to stop investors from seeking redress through it.

The project was being driven by a partnership between Zambeef Products, the largest integrated agribusiness and food processing company in Zambia, and Musika, a Zambian non-profit company aimed at stimulating private sector investment in smallholder markets.

A statement by Zambeef quoted Kedrick Sikombe, the district commissioner in Zambia’s Mbala area, as having said that the country’s livestock sub-sector had been under-utilised despite being recognised as an increasingly important part of Zambia’s agricultural economy.

Zambeef’s head of retail, marketing, and corporate affairs, Felix Lupindula, said that Zambia’s farmers were a vital link for ensuring food security and agricultural development in the country.

“If we aim to seriously grow in the agro-processing sector as a country, we must deliberately groom and equip our farmers to compete in the current market where maximised productivity and sustainability go hand-in-hand,” Lupindula said.

Zambeef’s statement said that its partnership with Musika would equip smallholder cattle farmers with relevant management skills, and educate them in good animal husbandry practices, herd health and breeding techniques. This would enable them to better manage their resources and maximise their returns.

“The reinforcement of commercial relationships between Zambeef and smallholder farmers will result in multiple benefits, with farmers accessing a ready market for cattle, technology and knowledge transfer, infrastructural development, and forward pricing,” the company said.

Zambeef added that it already had an established abattoir at Mbala, which was being used as a base for developing a smallholder livestock supply chain in the area.

Musika estimates that over 500 smallholder cattle farmers would participate in, and benefit from, this supply chain once it was fully operational.

“We hope this will stimulate growth in livestock farming in the region, and that farmers will be encouraged to invest in their production and increase productivity, as well as persuade crop farmers to also consider diversifying into livestock farming or growing inputs for stock feed alongside their usual crops,” Lupindula said.

The project was being driven by a partnership between Zambeef Products, the largest integrated agribusiness and food processing company in Zambia, and Musika, a Zambian non-profit company aimed at stimulating private sector investment in smallholder markets.

A statement by Zambeef quoted Kedrick Sikombe, the district commissioner in Zambia’s Mbala area, as having said that the country’s livestock sub-sector had been under-utilised despite being recognised as an increasingly important part of Zambia’s agricultural economy.

Zambeef’s head of retail, marketing, and corporate affairs, Felix Lupindula, said that Zambia’s farmers were a vital link for ensuring food security and agricultural development in the country.

“If we aim to seriously grow in the agro-processing sector as a country, we must deliberately groom and equip our farmers to compete in the current market where maximised productivity and sustainability go hand-in-hand,” Lupindula said.

Zambeef’s statement said that its partnership with Musika would equip smallholder cattle farmers with relevant management skills, and educate them in good animal husbandry practices, herd health and breeding techniques. This would enable them to better manage their resources and maximise their returns.

“The reinforcement of commercial relationships between Zambeef and smallholder farmers will result in multiple benefits, with farmers accessing a ready market for cattle, technology and knowledge transfer, infrastructural development, and forward pricing,” the company said.

Zambeef added that it already had an established abattoir at Mbala, which was being used as a base for developing a smallholder livestock supply chain in the area.

Musika estimates that over 500 smallholder cattle farmers would participate in, and benefit from, this supply chain once it was fully operational.

“We hope this will stimulate growth in livestock farming in the region, and that farmers will be encouraged to invest in their production and increase productivity, as well as persuade crop farmers to also consider diversifying into livestock farming or growing inputs for stock feed alongside their usual crops,” Lupindula said.

Cocoa farmers in these countries suffered low yields as a result of inadequate access to appropriate agro inputs, including fertiliser.

Through its African Cocoa Initiative (ACI) and Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP), the World Cocoa Foundation’s 18 month project, “Improving fertilizer delivery to cocoa famers: from supply to last mile,” was set to ease current bottlenecks in the sourcing and distribution of, as well as access to, fertilisers.

The project also aimed to understand the dynamics of the fertiliser value chain from the supply side, assess the last mile fertiliser delivery, identify and train hub-agro dealers and identify and train retailers.

“We are very excited about this new partnership with AFAP as we believe it is a sure way to utilise their expertise in building capacity of agro dealers in the two countries,” said Suzanne Ndongo-Seh, WCF’s CLP programme director and Cote d’Ivoire country director, in a statement.

“If farmers can improve their yields [through this programme] in a manner that would translate into incomes for them to be better off, access to the required agro inputs cannot be over-emphasised.”

Poor soils and high fertiliser costs hindered cocoa production in Ghana and Cameroon, which annually produce over 830 000t and 270 000t of cocoa respectively.

Weak fertiliser distribution value chains, in addition to a lack of inputs, poor weather, pests and diseases, impeded the cocoa industry, negatively impacting on smallholder farmers’ incomes.

It was expected that AFAP would be responsible for training 350 hub-agro dealers and retailers, and mentoring 120 retailers/last mile delivery stakeholders.

“The outcome of trained agro dealers will not only impact cocoa farmers, but also trigger a potential increase in income and job creation in the distribution of appropriate fertilisers and agro-chemicals,” said Pierre Brunache Jr, chief agribusiness officer at AFAP.

By the end of the project, AFAP would have mapped over 4 000 sales points across the two countries, and given smallholders access to information on wholesale and retail stores by publishing an agro input dealer directory.

The directory would be distributed to about 7 000 smallholders.

Cocoa farmers in these countries suffered low yields as a result of inadequate access to appropriate agro inputs, including fertiliser.

Through its African Cocoa Initiative (ACI) and Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP), the World Cocoa Foundation’s 18 month project, “Improving fertilizer delivery to cocoa famers: from supply to last mile,” was set to ease current bottlenecks in the sourcing and distribution of, as well as access to, fertilisers.

The project also aimed to understand the dynamics of the fertiliser value chain from the supply side, assess the last mile fertiliser delivery, identify and train hub-agro dealers and identify and train retailers.

“We are very excited about this new partnership with AFAP as we believe it is a sure way to utilise their expertise in building capacity of agro dealers in the two countries,” said Suzanne Ndongo-Seh, WCF’s CLP programme director and Cote d’Ivoire country director, in a statement.

“If farmers can improve their yields [through this programme] in a manner that would translate into incomes for them to be better off, access to the required agro inputs cannot be over-emphasised.”

Poor soils and high fertiliser costs hindered cocoa production in Ghana and Cameroon, which annually produce over 830 000t and 270 000t of cocoa respectively.

Weak fertiliser distribution value chains, in addition to a lack of inputs, poor weather, pests and diseases, impeded the cocoa industry, negatively impacting on smallholder farmers’ incomes.

It was expected that AFAP would be responsible for training 350 hub-agro dealers and retailers, and mentoring 120 retailers/last mile delivery stakeholders.

“The outcome of trained agro dealers will not only impact cocoa farmers, but also trigger a potential increase in income and job creation in the distribution of appropriate fertilisers and agro-chemicals,” said Pierre Brunache Jr, chief agribusiness officer at AFAP.

By the end of the project, AFAP would have mapped over 4 000 sales points across the two countries, and given smallholders access to information on wholesale and retail stores by publishing an agro input dealer directory.

The directory would be distributed to about 7 000 smallholders.