The Netherlands is seeking to deepen its economic relationship with Zimbabwe through trade, investment and agricultural cooperation, but the push is taking place against the unresolved legacy of land reform and compensation claims involving more than 80 Dutch-owned farms.

The Dutch Embassy in Harare has taken up the role of co-chair of the Land Working Group under the Structured Dialogue Platform, alongside the United Nations Development Programme and Zimbabwe's Office of the President and Cabinet, with the African Development Bank joining the first meeting.

The group is expected to discuss emerging land priorities, the responsibilities of the participating institutions and the next steps on the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement.

The renewed land engagement is significant because the Netherlands itself describes compensation for expropriated Dutch farmers as a remaining “hurdle in the bilateral relationship” and links the resolution of the issue to investor confidence and the rule of law.

The Dutch Government says more than 80 Dutch-owned farms were expropriated during Zimbabwe's land reform programme, with a large number of former owners having a legal right to compensation under the ratified BIPPA but remaining uncompensated. The Netherlands regards compensation not only as a question of justice and treaty obligations, but also as a condition for creating an environment capable of attracting greater foreign investment.

At the same time, the Netherlands remains a major commercial gateway for Zimbabwean agricultural exports into Europe.

According to the Dutch Embassy, the Netherlands is currently the destination for 70% of Zimbabwe's fresh-produce exports, making it particularly important to the country's horticulture industry. Zimbabwe exports products including flowers, peas and berries to the Dutch market, while the two countries have maintained agricultural trade links since the 1980s.

The relationship is therefore heavily concentrated around agriculture, with Dutch expertise being used to strengthen Zimbabwe's ability to produce for export markets.

The Netherlands is one of the world's agricultural powerhouses, exporting an estimated €90 billion in agricultural products annually, according to its Embassy. Its involvement with Zimbabwe has included technology transfer, farmer training, export development and private-sector support.

One of the longest-running initiatives is PUM Netherlands Senior Experts, which has supported Zimbabwean businesses since 2015. More than 150 PUM missions were conducted in Zimbabwe between 2015 and 2021, covering horticulture, processed foods, leather, engineering, furniture, dairy, clothing and textiles. The Dutch Embassy says the programme contributed to increased horticultural exports to the Netherlands and the wider European Union market.

Other interventions include the Green Impact Centre at Chibero Agricultural College, established in 2019 by seven Dutch companies to demonstrate Dutch agricultural technologies and train smallholder farmers, as well as the Food for Export Masterclass, launched in 2020 to help women-led agribusinesses access international markets.

The Netherlands has also supported the establishment of Zimbabwe's Horticulture Development Council, aimed at strengthening the industry's representation and increasing exports, particularly to European markets.

The latest engagement with ZimTrade chief executive Allan Majuru therefore comes as the two countries seek to build on a decade of cooperation involving entrepreneurs, SMEs, producers and larger companies.

But the scale of the opportunity is matched by the unresolved investment question surrounding land.

The Dutch Government's own strategy makes clear that the compensation issue is not being treated as a historical matter divorced from today's investment environment. It argues that resolving outstanding obligations is important for establishing confidence in Zimbabwe's legal and investment framework.

This creates a potentially important test for the new Land Working Group: whether Zimbabwe can use the dialogue to move beyond the historical dispute while creating clearer conditions for future agricultural and foreign investment.

The stakes are commercial. Zimbabwe currently has a trade surplus with the Netherlands, according to the Dutch Embassy, but the relationship remains dominated by agricultural exports rather than a broad range of manufactured goods and higher-value services.