The Zimbabwe government's plans to pay compensation to white former commercial farmers for improvements done on land they previously owned have been welcomed by the country's Federation of Farmers' Unions, which hopes that the payments will end "all contestations" on land and "result in the opening of foreign markets". The federation has a membership of 60,000 mostly black farmers. Its president, Shadreck Makombe, said on Thursday that the payment for improvements on land was the right thing to do and the farming community welcomed it. "We certainly hope that it will put to an end all the contestations that have been there on land. By accepting compensation on improvements, it means there is no dispute on the land which is owned by the government," he said. Unable to access foreign markets Makombe said as a result of disputes over the land, newly resettled black farmers had been unable to access foreign markets, which had adopted an unofficial policy of red-flagging any products fro...

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