Zimbabwe's economy relies heavily on the agriculture sector. Agriculture contributes about 18 percent to its gross domestic product (GDP). Almost half the country's exports are derived from agriculture, especially cotton, tobacco and the horticultural crops.
The major crops grown in Zimbabwe are: maize, cotton, soybeans, wheat, tobacco and horticultural crops such as roses, cut flowers and vegetables. Maize is the country's staple crop and accounts for a substantial proportion of the fertilizers applied.
This report divides the country into five "natural regions" and describes the natural characteristics, soils and cropping patterns of each. Rainfall is the major determinant of agricultural production patterns. Most soils in Zimbabwe are of inherently low fertility and their quality declines rapidly where they do not receive regular amounts of organic and inorganic fertilizers. The soils of the smallholder subsector are particularly vulnerable. An inadequate level of investment in soil fertility is leading to soil erosion and land degradation.
Until 2000, there were two dominant farming subsectors in Zimbabwe: the large-scale commercial subsector, comprising 4 500 farmers with freehold title to 12 million ha; and the smallholder subsector, with 850 000 farmers occupying 16 million ha of communal land. The large-scale farms were located mostly in areas of greater agricultural and economic potential whereas most of the communal lands were in marginal agro-ecological regions.
In 2000, the Government embarked on an agrarian reform programme that involved redistribution of land. The State acquired almost 12 500 000 ha (6 796 farms) and transferred this land to two new categories of farming subsectors. By 2003, more than 3 000 farming units covering about 3 million ha had been established in these two new subsectors.
There has been considerable research into the use of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers on different crops in the various agro-ecological zones. Fertilizer use recommendations have been prepared by crop/natural region/farming system. However, these blanket recommendations require refinement according to the conditions of the farm.
There are four major fertilizer manufacturers in Zimbabwe. Two companies produce ammonium nitrate and superphosphate, which they sell to two other companies that use them, together with imported intermediates, to produce NPK compound fertilizers. There are domestic phosphate rock deposits but all the potassium required has to be imported. Fertilizer production has tended to decline since the mid-1990s owing to a fall in domestic demand together with restrictions on exports, a lack of foreign exchange for the purchase of equipment and raw materials, transport problems, increasing energy costs and low profitability.
Prior to the land reform, the large-scale commercial sector accounted for more than 80 percent of fertilizer purchases. The average rate of fertilizer nutrient application was 290 kg/ha on the large-scale commercial farms compared with 15 kg/ha on the communal lands. Fertilizer consumption has fallen since 2000 owing to the disruption caused by the agrarian reform, physical unavailability, increased fertilizer prices and financial constraints. Only one-fifth of the smallholder farmers use fertilizers. In order to realize the potential for increased fertilizer use in this subsector, the farmers should have better financial and physical access to fertilizers and guidance concerning their use. However, above all, fertilizer use must be profitable.
The Government controls the prices of the main fertilizers and crops and effectively subsidizes prices for the smallholder sectors. There is freedom of entry into the inputs distribution sector but the Government's input supply schemes reduce the quantities that farmers can purchase from private distributors.
