Looking for Unused Land to Farm on? Check Your Phone!

Farmers in Zimbabwe now have a new app to make the search for land an easier and cheaper way. Through their smartphones, they can learn all they need to know about vacant plots all around the country.

“Quite a number of young people in the country have potential in commercial agriculture, but they do not have access to land,” says Tafadzwanashe Gavi, the creator of the app Umojalands. “Farm seekers can now access plots anytime, anywhere using their mobile phones.”

Thanks to the app, the expenses that come with buying land are eliminated: no travel expenses, agent fees, and due diligence costs. In a country where 85% of the land is for agricultural purposes but most of it is underutilized or unused, and 8 million people suffer from food insecurity, the “use of technology to identify underutilized land is most welcome,” says deputy lands minister Douglas Karoro. According to Olga Nhari, chairwoman of the Women in Agriculture Union, the app will help increase the number of women farmers. “This technology will be a big, positive step for women farmers.”