original_query: What were the reasons for the intense land competition between the three groups mentioned in the text?
query: What were the reasons for the intense land competition between the settlers, the Ndebele, and the Shona in Zimbabwe?
answer: Intense land competition stemmed from population growth leading to over-utilization and diminishing land for cultivation and grazing.  The commodification of land by the Ndebele further exacerbated the issue, as did the unequal distribution of land under colonial rule, with whites reserving the most fertile regions.