The Fig Tree (Matthew 21: 18–20; Mark 11:12–20; Luke 13:6–9) and Livelihoods: An Assessment of the Impact of the Destruction of Orchards and Plantations in the Aftermath of Jambanja in Zimbabwe
摘要
The chapter utilizes comparative hermeneutics to analyze incongruent gospel texts on Jesus and the fig tree. A similar spatial approach is noted in the Zimbabwean plantation land reform praxis. While the Markan and Matthean Jesus takes drastic measures, the Lukan protagonist is more cautious and consultative. The depravity of the first two accounts of the fig tree is counteracted by the third one which has great promise for future food production. In the same vein, the demagoguery of Zimbabwean politicians has resulted in the destruction of the citrus and mango plantations in the highly productive province of Mashonaland West, in northwestern Zimbabwe. This has been a blow to both food production and foreign currency earnings on fruit and by-product exports. The wanton destruction of productive farms was spurned in the sugarcane farms’ land reform and partially mitigated wood plantations, which largely followed the Lukan approach. The sugarcane industry especially absorbed more players, without decimating the original main actors. In that regard, the national and international demands continued to be met by the sugarcane growers in inverse proportion to the mango and citrus fruit and juice suppliers. The research is motivated by the need to contribute to the gap in environmental morality; a gap which has led to a loss in foreign currency earnings and the prevalence of food and wood insecurity in the country. The chapter interrogates used and abused power whose outcomes are construction and destruction, respectively.