Modernist assumptions have guided rural development interventions in Zimbabwe since the mid-twentieth century. As a result interventions were not firmly grounded on rural socio-economic and physical realities. The aim was not only to create a society of ‘modern’, ‘progressive farmers’ who followed a predetermined agricultural path, but also, the quest for order and modernity was clearly manifest through centralization measures and increased emphasis on prudent land husbandry. This article seeks to demonstrate that these rural development initiatives were ill-suited to the socio-physical realities in some rural societies. Using a case study of a communal area in semi-arid north-western Zimbabwe, it stresses the importance of the physical conditions, the socio-economic dynamics and the particular livelihood trajectories of rural households. It concludes that, even if the state in Zimbabwe was to succeed in imposing an agrarian order driven by these models, such a policy was more likely to end in dismal failure.

中文翻译：

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当代农村社会的复杂性：半干旱津巴布韦的农业“改善”与社会现实

自20世纪中叶以来，现代主义假设一直指导着津巴布韦的农村发展干预措施。结果，干预措施没有牢固地立足于农村的社会经济和自然现实。其目的不仅是创建一个遵循预定农业道路的“现代”，“进步农民”社会，而且，通过集中化措施和对审慎的土地耕作的日益重视，对秩序和现代性的追求显然得以体现。本文试图证明这些农村发展计划不适合某些农村社会的社会物理现实。通过对津巴布韦西北半干旱的一个公共区域的案例研究，它强调了自然条件，社会经济动态以及农村家庭特殊生计轨迹的重要性。