A group of Zimbabwean farmers will visit Western Australia this week to investigate the possibility of relocating from their troubled homeland. The 12 farmers will spend five days inspecting properties in the state's south-west before heading north where they will split up, one group heading to Queensland, the other to the Kimberley. Their visas were approved on Friday. Of particular interest to the group will be the Ord River region, which is ideal for the irrigation-based farming they are involved in.
Land is due to be released for sale there soon.
Tony Baker, a migration consultant and a former tobacco farmer in Zimbabwe, advertised in a Zimbabwean farming magazine two weeks ago inviting farmers to inquire about migration to Australia. Since then, Mr Baker has been inundated with calls from people seeking information. He left Zimbabwe five years ago. Mr Baker said some of the visiting farmers' properties were already occupied by black war veterans. There are no special arrangements in place for Zimbabweans wishing to migrate to Australia.