The Land Apportionment Act 1930

The Land Apportionment Act was a law passed in 1930 by a settler government in Rhodesia.

It was a law governing the distribution of land into white and black owned.

It was necessitated by the need to promote white or settler agriculture.

In Rhodesia there were 96 000 000 acres of land and 49 000 000 acres was allocated to whites (51%) and this land was given to 50 000 settlers while 21 000 000 acres was allocated to blacks who had a population of over a million people (1 081 000). The rest were forest. 

What influenced the Land Apportionment Act of 1930.

1.The LAA of 1930 was influenced by the 1923 Constitution. 

2.It was influenced by Morris Carter Commission of 1925 which advocated for division of land into white and African land.

3.It was influenced by the need to reduce competition between black and white farmers.

4.It was influenced by the need to get cheap labour force for white farmers and was only possible after impoverishing black people.

It was influenced by the need to promote settler interests as suggested by Godfrey Huggins.

Nature of settlers’ land/white farmers’ land. 

1. Settlers got large tracts of land.

2. The land was spacious.

3. The land had a low population density.

4. The land allocated to settlers was fertile and had rich and good soils.

5. The land received high rainfall totals.

6. The land was close to the market centres.

7. The land was close to roads and railway lines.

8. Yeilds were high due to nature of soils and high rainfall.

Nature of black-land/African farmers’ land

1. Land allocated to black farmers was small in size.

2. African farmers were overcrowded in the reserves where they were settled.

3. The land allocated to blacks had high population density.

4. Land allocated to blacks was infertile, rocky, sandy and had poor soils.

5. Land allocated to blacks received low rainfall totals.

6. Geographical position of land allocated to blacks was far away from roads and railway lines as well as far away from market centres.

7. Because of the nature of soils and rainfall totals yields were low.

Yields were low and poor.

There was overstocking and overgrazing resulting in soil erosion and serious land degradation.

Africans were located far away from market centres, roads and rail, making commercial farming impossible.

It ended competition between black and white farmers.

Dr Manners Msongelwa is the president of History Teacher’s of Zimbabwe and a Teacher at Camelot in Kwekw