Zimbabwe’s government is to start distributing $20 million as initial compensation to local black and foreign white farmers whose land was taken from them during the land invasions more than 2 decades ago.

According to the country’s finance minister, the move is part of a broader effort by the government to revive the country’s agricultural sector.

The compensation is hoped to help pave the way towards reconciling losses incurred during farm seizures ushered in by former President Robert Mugabe.

His government seized thousands of productive farms, the majority owned by white farmers whose ancestors had stolen land from black Zimbabweans over the course of the colonial period.

As a result of the land reform programme in the early 2000s, the country’s agricultural output fell, and its economy suffered.

A group of foreign white farmers and 400 black Zimbabweans will receive the initial compensation. The money is separate from a $3.5 billion settlement reached in 2020 for thousands of white Zimbabwean farmers, an agreement which has been held off as a result of Zimbabwe's financial situation.

The country's external debt currently amounts to $12 billion, with outstanding payments owed to banks including the World Bank and other private creditors.