FAO has been working closely with NGOs and small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe to introduce conservation farming techniques and improve food production. The video provides a short overview of what this actually means for Zimbabwe's communal farmers, recounting some of their stories and including the perspectives of FAO staff, NGO staff...

Filmed in Zimbabwe and the United Republic of Tanzania, the video highlights the importance of rural men's and women's local knowledge to their livelihoods.

The present ability or otherwise of Africa to cope with climate change and improve its agricultural production depends on the environment and natural resources base of the continent, on the impacts of its past and on the nature of its present interactions with the outside world. Africa is a large...

Using lessons from the case studies this paper draws out five practical steps in reaching and supporting women marginal farmers: 1) take the lead from women marginal farmers themselves in helping build their networks and groups, 2) promote alliances and external links, 3) organising needs based training workshops and regular...

As population density increases and available natural resources diminish, tensions and competition increase among stakeholders for access to land for farming and animal husbandry as well as access to forest, fishery and wildlife resources. The scramble for resources involves communities, economic interest groups, governments and the private sector as they...

Crop production in smallholder farming systems of Zimbabwe is limited by low inherent soil fertility, particularly N and P and available soil moisture. One of the major agricultural challenges in developing countries is the development of technologies that are able to sustain soil fertility and conserve soil and moisture. The...

Producer organisations are widely heralded as leading contributors to poverty reduction and the achievement of food security. Following the withdrawal of state support as part of measures for liberalization, producer organizations in Africa have been in a process of transition, attempting to define appropriate strategies in a competitive open market...

A livelihoods study by SNV in 2007 concluded that it was possible to increase the income of banana producers four-fold by increasing productivity and quality per acre grown by the average household. To take up this method, a robust and effective method of transforming the mindset and practices of farmers...

This study is an assessment of the determinants of micro irrigation adoption for maize production in smallholder irrigation schemes. The focus of the study was on Hama Mavhaire irrigation scheme in Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. An assessment of the major production constraints in the scheme was carried out, factors that influence...

Agricultural research programs in universities in sub-Saharan Africa generate technologies few of which are adopted by the smallholder farmers. A technology that demands significant additional inputs be they financial or physical is less likely to be adopted compared to one that generates significant socioeconomic benefits. In Zimbabwe, smallholders’ food security,...

British colonial rule and the white Rhodesian Government made Zimbabwe one of the world’s most inequitable countries. The Land Apportionment Act of 1930 gave white settlers control of more than 51 percent of the country’s land, leaving areas less fertile and more arid to the native population. Despite the land...

In the past decade a political and economic crisis has unfolded in Zimbabwe, resulting in two-digit negative growth rates, sky-rocketing inflation, decline in the rule of law and a disintegration of markets, notably rural input, output and labour markets. There has been little or no primary data collection to document...

This report was submitted to SNV Zimbabwe in December 2007, revised in 2009, and documents the experiences of twenty-five companies contracting smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe to produce cotton, tobacco, paprika, sugar cane, vegetables, sorghum and various seed and legume crops in a hyperinflationary environment. The only company contracting farmers to...

Despite the achievements of smallholders in Asia during the green revolution, there is scepticism that Africa’s smallholders — who dominate the farm area in most countries — can imitate this model and deliver agricultural growth. This paper assesses whether such pessimism is justified. Given the high transactions costs of hiring...

This paper uses the sustainable livelihoods framework to explore the contribution of smallholder production to food security in some sub-Saharan African countries and relates it to the South African case. Noting that many of the world’s hungry are smallholder farmers, it is clear that food insecurity is closely linked to...

This Toolbox has been designed to assist stakeholders (government research and extension departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), donors and farmers) in developing sound Conservation Agriculture (CA) extension programs/projects in Zimbabwe.

Agricultural production remains the main source of livelihood for rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing employment to more than 60 percent of the population and contributing about 30 percent of gross domestic product. With likely long-term changes in rainfall patterns and shifting temperature zones, climate change is expected to significantly...

The Conference on Ecological Agriculture: Mitigating Climate Change, Providing Food Security and Self-Reliance for Rural Livelihoods in Africa was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 26-28 November 2008. It was organised by the African Union (AU), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development...

In this latest edition of the Dimitra Newsletter, as in previous editions, we highlight the importance of access by rural populations, and particularly women, to information and communication. The ability to access information and to share it through dissemination and networking is crucial in order to combat inequality, malnutrition and...

The need to focus on women farmers' productivity, which can be an effective engine for social change, has become increasingly clear in sub-Saharan Africa. Women have a significant role in farming and post-harvest activities in most countries in the region. Nevertheless, a complex set of rights and obligations reflecting social...