Honeybees (Apis mellifera), wild bees, and other pollinators can be adversely affected by pesticides as well as other stressors, with potentially large economic and ecological consequences. Legislation is one possible tool which can be used to support actions to protect pollinators from pesticides. Several documents have been published at the...

Agroecology is an approach that seeks to improve the integration of food systems through environmentally sustainable production systems. This paper explores the key practices considered to define agroecological farming in Bikita District of Masvingo in Zimbabwe. It reviewed the literature on agroecology and presented a criterion that informed analysis to...

According to a new study, rising temperatures and decreased rainfall in eight Southern and East African countries are likely to reduce the production of vital food crops in the region by 2050. The International Fund for Agricultural Development has issued the scientists' report, which covers Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda,...

The impact of COVID 19 on food security in Africa has been among the most widely discussed subjects since the first cases of COVID-19 in Africa broke in February 2020. Most of the narratives were alarming. The headlines put Africa at the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis caused by...

Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children globally and an important contributor to the burden of night blindness in pregnant women and severe illness and death in children under the age of five. Southern Africa is not spared.  In Zimbabwe, nearly one in five children under...

Women smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe have appealed for government assistance, claiming that they are often ignored when authorities and other organizations visit their regions to provide agricultural assistance. Despite their significant contribution to the country's food security, female smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe who practice agroecology (AE) and grow 'women seeds,'...

This article narrates the story of Movai Matombo, a 57-year-old woman smallholder farmer who began practicing agroecology in 2010. Matombo resides in the Shashe region of Mashava, Masvingo province, Zimbabwe, where she learnt about agroecology farming, a technique that produces a high yield while conserving the soil and the environment....

Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children globally and an important contributor to the burden of night blindness in pregnant women and severe illness and death in children under the age of five. Southern Africa is not spared.  In Zimbabwe, nearly one in five children under...

In Zimbabwe and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, farmers use grain stores constructed from grass, stalks of cereal crops and wooden poles. Some of these constituent parts are increasingly scarce. Mud plastered stores, supported on concrete-filled plastic pipes, offer the benefits of improved resistance to termites, insect grain pests and...

Farmers all over the world incur serious losses to stored produce because of insect damage and are frequently forced to sell prematurely. Many use traditional storage protectant practices or, when they can afford it, purchase synthetic chemical pesticides. The effectiveness of traditional practices is variable. Using synthetic pesticides also has...

Insecticide treatment of cattle is an important method of tsetse control. However, insecticides applied to cattle have been shown to contaminate dung. This has a significant impact on insects using the dung as a resource, e.g. dung beetles. This reduces the recycling of dung and has a negative impact on...

Many farmers in low potential areas own cattle and milk them for their own consumption and sale. However, in the dry season, natural grazing and crop residues are inadequate to support lactation, making supplementary feed necessary to maintain milk production. This practice includes descriptions of techniques for growing the crops...

The development and modification of tillage implement designs and practices suitable for donkeys and cattle of limited draught capability was undertaken. This was accomplished through the compilation of a detailed database of animal-drawn tillage implements, an evaluation of potentially low draught implements on station and on farm, and the development...

Moisture conserving tillage and weeding practices for a maize-based cropping system were tested in semi-arid Zimbabwe. This is an area characterised by shortage of labour and Draught Animal Power (DAP), frequent drought, and at times excessive weed growth. Using a ripper tine attached to the existing plough for planting, and...

Crop establishment is often poor in the semi-arid tropics. However, good crop stand establishment is essential for the efficient use of water and light, and a uniform stand is a pre-requisite for cropping success. Seeds that germinate quickly produce viable seedlings that are not dependent on rapidly declining moisture in...

Crop establishment is often poor in the semi-arid tropics. However, good crop stand establishment is essential for the efficient use of water and light, and a uniform stand is a pre-requisite for cropping success. Seeds that germinate quickly produce viable seedlings that are not dependent on rapidly declining moisture in...

By eliminating unwarranted opening of new land for farming, indiscriminate cutting of trees and bushfires, woodlands are regenerating, wild mushrooms can be harvested again and small wildlife like bushbucks are returning. Tortoises and snakes including the much feared black mamba cobras are reoccupying their original habitats. The degraded environment and...

Tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) infest over 11 million sq km of Africa, and are vectors of Trypanosomosis (or Trypanosomiasis) in both humans and domestic livestock. For example, it is estimated that tsetse cover over 7 percent of Zimbabwe and 60 percent of Tanzania and Trypanosomosis has an important negative impact on livestock...

The Shashe farms in the Runde catchment area of Zimbabwe extend across three villages. Since 2010, over 500 families from the region have worked alongside ZIMSOFF (Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum) and AZTREC (Association of Zimbabwe Traditional Environmental Conversationists) to revive arid cattle-ranching land into rich, abundant food forests. At the...

Tsetse flies (Glossina sp.) infest over 11 million square km of Africa, and are vectors of Trypanosomosis (or Trypanosomiasis) in both man and domestic livestock. For example, it is estimated that tsetse infestations occur over 7 percent of Zimbabwe and 60 percent of Tanzania and Trypanosomosis has an important negative impact on...