Crisis in Zimbabwe

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A) A country that lost its access to the means of production was Zimbabwe. The means of production that was lost in this country was land and eventually raw materials that were being produced. Zimbabwe once exported food, but now requires massive food aid due to what happened under the presidents rule. Zimbabwe was once seen as Africa’s breadbasket. It was rich in raw materials as well as industrious farmland. Zimbabwe would grow all the food needed for its own people and had left over that they would then export. Agriculture was the mainstay of its economy. The farm sector employed thousands of workers. In addition to having a strong farm sector, Zimbabwe also had a refined manufacturing base and a strong banking division. The court system was very trusted by the people and there was low crime rate. The country had a secure rule of law which allowed owners to use their land to develop and build new businesses or even expand old ones. Because of all the security and trust in the country, all that led to a strong GDP growth. Even though it was successful it would not be protected from law and rules that would then be established.
President Robert Mugabe started to seize farms due to the notion of land reform. The best farms in turn were taken away and given to people who were not really willing to take care of them. There were huge differences in the farming regions after he started to distribute the land within the individuals in the country. In some areas of the country there were well kept commercial farms that made thousands of acres of cash crops whereas the others farms were crowded together and really small. Most of the commercial farms were owned by 4,500 white families and in contrast about 840,000 black farmers barely m...

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...e imports from South Africa, but that country is also producing lower than normal.

Works Cited

Clemens, Michael, and Todd Moss. "Costs and Causes of Zimbabwe’s Crisis."Center for Global Devleopment. N.p., July 2005. Web. 09 May 2014. .
"Fighting Famine in Southern Africa: Steps Out of the Crisis." International Food Policy Research Institute, 2002. Web. 09 May 2014. .
Richardson, Craig J. "How the Loss of Property Rights Caused Zimbabwe’s Collapse." Cato.org. N.p., 14 Nov. 2005. Web. 09 May 2014.
Richardson, Craig J. "The Loss of Property Rights and the Collapse of Zimbabwe." Cato Journal 25.3 (2005): n. pg. Cato Institute. Web. 9 May 2014. .

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