White farmers warn that millions will starve through land reforms

White farmers warned that Zimbabwe would starve after President Robert Mugabe insisted yesterday that he would not abandon his land reforms.

Jenni Williams, a spokeswoman for Justice for Agriculture, said she was disappointed that Mr Mugabe had offered nothing that would help avert a famine. She said: "We as farmers accept that land must be redistributed, but we do feel our political leaders must understand that in land reform you can't compromise production or you will have starving Zimbabweans."

Aid agencies have predicted that up to 13 million people in six southern African countries, about half of them in Zimbabwe, could starve by February.

Colin Cloete, president of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), which represents 4,000 farmers, said it appeared Mr Mugabe had toned down his rhetoric but his message on redistribution had remained consistent. "It could have been worse," he said.

Bob Zietsman, of the CFU in the western Matabeleland province, said: "There is some relief that it seems there won't be a mass avalanche of evictions." But he warned that much uncertainty remained.

In his speech, Mr Mugabe said "loyal" farmers who were willing to co-operate with his government would be left some land. His statement left many farmers confused. Many have already been ordered to surrender all their lands, while others have been told by state officials that they can keep small portions of their farms.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said there was nothing in Mr Mugabe's speech to show that he might change his policies. He said: "There was no indication that the land programme will be reversed, which is what the international donor community has called for. What we are watching in Zimbabwe is a man-made tragedy with the country facing famine, not through natural disaster but through deliberate decisions. The victims of the government policies will not be only the farmers who will lose their lands, but the farmworkers who will lose their jobs and the people of Zimbabwe who will lose their food supplies."

The Movement for Democratic change condemned Mr Mugabe's speech for spreading a message of "hate and violence". The opposition party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said: "Mugabe fails to connect with the primary concerns of the people of Zimbabwe, which are food, jobs, health and an end to poverty. Zimbabwe is now a country where everything is in short supply except misery, starvation and death. The regime has reduced innocent citizens to the level of scavenging animals."