Presidential Title Deeds Programme: Is there Tenure Security Assurance for Vulnerable Farmers?

President Mnangagwa handed over title deeds to 1000 farmers at Craignengower Farm in Mazowe district on the 25^th of August 2025, under the Presidential Title Deeds Programme.

The Presidential Title Deeds Programme is an initiative meant for the beneficiaries of the land reform programme, including both A1 and A2 farmers.

Since the early 1980s, the redistributive land reform approach in Zimbabwe was tailored to address colonial injustices while also stimulating economic empowerment, since land has been at the center of Zimbabwean nationalism from as far back as the 1970s-armed liberation war.

The fast-tracked land reform programme resulted in A1 farm beneficiaries getting offer letters initially and then 25 year permits with A2 farm beneficiaries allocated offer letters that were subsequently converted to 99-year leases in 2006.

Even though the 25-year permits and 99-year leases welcomed, they were unfortunately not readily accepted as collateral by the financial sector, citing their incompatibility with financial sector requirements because of lack of clarity on who ultimately owned the land in question.

This challenge hindered agricultural investment and productivity as the A1 and A2 beneficiaries had limited access to financing.

As such, the title deeds under the Presidential Title Deeds Programme provide farmers with a sense of security and ownership as it enables them to act as collateral by promoting commodification and commercialization of land.

Government efforts to promote tenure security must be balanced with measures to protect the rights and interests of all stakeholders, particularly those who are vulnerable to exploitation

The issuance of title deeds under the Presidential Title Deeds Programme needs to be approached with fairness and caution in order to eliminate chances of corruption which may result inequalities.