• US$40 million has been paid to 93 BIPPA-protected farms, with 16 fully compensated and 77 receiving partial payments.
• US$70.5 million remains outstanding, with Government targeting settlement through 2027–2028 budget allocations.
• The compensation programme is part of Zimbabwe’s land-reform legacy, investor-confidence and international re-engagement efforts.

Harare- Zimbabwe has moved further in resolving one of the most sensitive legacies of the 2000 Land Reform Programme, with Government paying US$40 million during 2024 and 2025 to compensate investors whose farms were protected under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs).

The payments have fully compensated 16 farms, while another 77 farms have received partial payments, bringing the total number of farms paid to 93. Government has allocated another US$20 million in the 2026 National Budget, while the remaining US$70.5 million owed to qualifying BIPPA-protected investors is scheduled to be settled through annual budget allocations over 2027 and 2028.

The numbers point to a compensation programme that is moving from a long-standing policy commitment towards a defined fiscal settlement framework. The significance extends beyond the farms themselves. The process touches Zimbabwe’s land-reform legacy, investor protection, public finances and the country’s wider efforts to rebuild confidence with international creditors and investors.

A Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, commonly abbreviated as BIPPA, is an agreement between two countries designed to protect investments made by investors from one country in the territory of the other. Such agreements generally establish rules around the treatment of foreign investments and provide protections against certain forms of adverse government action.

In Zimbabwe’s case, the compensation process relates specifically to farms whose investors were covered by BIPPAs that had been signed and ratified before the 2000 Land Reform Programme. This is an important qualification because not every former farm owner automatically falls under the BIPPA compensation framework.

The Government opened the application process in May 2024, inviting affected BIPPA farmers to seek consideration for compensation. Claims were assessed through the Land Compensation Committee, with qualifying investors coming from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia.The compensation framework therefore represents a targeted settlement mechanism rather than a general programme covering all former farm owners.

The US$40 million paid during 2024 and 2025 has been distributed across 93 farms.

The distribution is heavily concentrated among Dutch and Swiss claimants. Investors from the Netherlands accounted for US$20.1 million, or approximately half of the total amount paid. Switzerland followed with US$11.9 million, Germany with US$4.8 million, Denmark with US$2.8 million and former Yugoslav claimants with US$0.4 million.

This concentration is understandable because the Netherlands also accounts for the largest number of farms in the programme, with 44 farms, compared with 27 from Switzerland and 14 from Germany.

The average payment per farm across all 93 beneficiaries was approximately US$430,000. That average masks substantial differences between claims, since some farms have been fully compensated while others have only received partial payments.The most important detail in the payment statistics is the gap between farms receiving money and farms being fully compensated.

Of the 93 farms paid so far, only 16 have been fully compensated. That means just under 17% of the farms receiving payments have reached full settlement, while 77 farms, or about 83%, remain partially compensated.This creates a more nuanced picture than the US$40 million headline suggests.

Government has made tangible progress in putting resources behind the programme, although the majority of beneficiaries remain in the settlement process. The partial-payment structure also means the fiscal commitment extends beyond the money already disbursed.The Government has indicated that US$70.5 million remains outstanding to BIPPA-protected investors. Combined with the US$40 million already paid, the total compensation obligation represented in this programme is therefore approximately US$110.5 million.The amount already paid represents roughly 36% of the total obligation, leaving about 64% still to be settled.

The Government has allocated a further US$20 million in the 2026 National Budget. This is important because the compensation programme is being funded directly through the National Budget rather than through a separate external financing arrangement. That means every payment represents a fiscal commitment that must compete with other Government priorities, including infrastructure, social protection, public wages and debt servicing.

The annual budget allocation model is also significant. Under the payment arrangement agreed through the Land Tenure Reforms, Compensation of Former Farm Owners and Resolution of BIPPAs Sector Working Group, the annual Treasury allocation is shared equally among qualifying BIPPA-protected claimants.

This provides a clearer framework for beneficiaries, although the pace of settlement remains dependent on the availability of fiscal resources.

The importance of the programme goes well beyond the payment of historical claims.For Zimbabwe, BIPPA compensation sits at the intersection of land reform and investment credibility. The Government is attempting to demonstrate that where specific legal and treaty-based protections apply, those obligations can be addressed through a structured fiscal process.

That matters for foreign investors assessing Zimbabwe today.Investment decisions are based not only on market opportunities, mineral resources or expected returns. Investors also assess how governments treat existing investments when policies or economic circumstances change. A more predictable approach to resolving legacy claims can therefore contribute to greater confidence in the investment environment.

The issue also has significance for Zimbabwe’s broader international re-engagement agenda. The Government’s Structured Dialogue Platform brings together Government, creditors and development partners around three reform pillars, one of which covers land tenure reforms, compensation of Former Farm Owners and resolution of BIPPAs.

Progress on compensation can therefore be viewed as part of a much wider effort to resolve historical economic obligations and improve Zimbabwe’s relationship with international financial institutions and investors.

The outstanding balance of US$70.5 million is not insignificant, although it is substantially smaller than the broader compensation obligation involving Former Farm Owners.

The Government has already established a two-year horizon for settlement, with payments expected during 2027 and 2028 through annual budget allocations. That provides greater predictability than an open-ended compensation commitment.

The main question is whether the fiscal position will allow these allocations to be made consistently.Zimbabwe continues to face significant debt and financing pressures, which means compensation payments must be planned alongside competing fiscal obligations. A predictable settlement schedule could be beneficial for both Government and claimants because it reduces uncertainty and allows Treasury to incorporate the obligation into medium-term fiscal planning.

The US$40 million already paid should therefore be viewed as more than a historical compensation statistic. It represents a measurable step in addressing legacy obligations under international investment agreements. The fact that 16 farms have been fully compensated, while 77 have entered partial settlement, shows that the process has moved beyond policy statements towards actual fiscal implementation.

The next milestone will be whether Government can maintain that momentum.The US$20 million allocation for 2026, followed by the planned US$70.5 million settlement during 2027 and 2028, creates a clearer path towards closing the outstanding BIPPA claims. For investors, the significance will ultimately depend not only on the amounts paid, but on whether the process strengthens confidence that contractual and treaty-based obligations can be resolved through predictable and transparent mechanisms.

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