Struggles to control valuable land, natural and mineral resources are at the heart of many conflicts around the world. Many have their roots in colonial conquest and post-colonial resource grabbing by colluding local and global elites. Land conflicts frequently entail clashes of values and meanings associated with land. Conflict risk is rising with climate change and the race to control critical mineral and water resources. Millions of people face loss of livelihoods and displacement.

This article seeks to contribute to growing academic literature on land reform and whiteness in Zimbabwe, where there have been calls for nuance in the analysis of agrarian change. The research which underpins it explores differentiated responses to land reform on the part of a sample of white farmers (as well as A1 and A2 beneficiaries), in the environs of Matobo district, Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. It characterises a range of responses on the part of white farmers – dropping out, pushing back, accommodating and adapting – and charts the various outcomes of these strategies.