1. PERSONS MET

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 Zimbabwe Sub-divisions

2.2 Agricultural Sector

2.3 Irrigated Agriculture

2.4 Aquaculture Development

3. INSTITUTIONS OF INTEREST INVOLVED IN RESEARCH

3.1 Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management

3.2 Department of Research and Specialist Services

4. INSTITUTIONS AND PROJECTS OF INTEREST INVOLVED IN DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Aquatic Resources Management for Local Communities Programme

4.2 Department of Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services

4.3 FAO Special Programme for Food Security

4.4 FARMESA Programme

4.5 SADC Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Sector

5. CONCLUSIONS

6. LITERATURE CONSULTED

<1. PERSONS MET 1. PERSONS MET

2.1.1 Administrative sub-divisions

From the administrative point of view, Zimbabwe is made of eight Provinces (Figure1). Each Province is itself divided into six or more Districts.

2.1.2 Physiographic regions

There are four physiographic regions determined primarily on the basis of altitude:

• highveld:1 200 m to 1 700 m (25 percent of total)
• middleveld:600 m to 1 200 m (40 percent of total)
• lowveld:300 m to 600 m (33 percent of total)
• highlands:a narrow north-south mountain range stretching along most of the eastern border

There are three main river basins: Zambezi (in northwest and north); Limpopo (in south), and Save (in east and southeast) (Figure 1).

2.1.3 Agro-ecological regions

Agricultural development is basically related to the subdivision of the country into five agro-ecological regions (I to V) primarily defined according to rainfall characteristics (Figure2) as shown in the table below:

Agro-ecological regions (AER) in Zimbabwe

Agricultural development greatly varies from one region to the other as follows:

Agriculture is a dominant sector of the Zimbabwe economy. Being heavily dependent on rainfall, years of drought result in increased food shortages, hunger and malnutrition, an adverse balance of payment and inflation (as exports decrease) as well as a reduction in economic growth.

This impact of drought on agricultural production and the national economy in general has been recognized by the government, particularly after a series of five dry years during the period 1981-92. The importance of irrigation to achieve sustainable agricultural development has been clearly underlined (FAO, 1993). As a result, the Second National Development Plan (1991-95) focused its attention to irrigation development in particular in communal and resettlement areas (Section 2.3).

Concurrently, the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme was launched in 1991 with the assistance from IMF/World Bank.

There are two major agricultural sub-groups, according to individual farm size, location, production objectives and support institutions: small scale and large scale farming groups (Bitanihirwe, 1977) as shown in the table below:

The relative importance of the small-scale group has steadily increased over the last ten years, their key crop production (maize, cotton) having now overtaken that of the large-scale group.

The small-scale group being itself made up of four different types of farms, one generally recognizes five agricultural sub-sectors in Zimbabwe (Bitanihirwe, 1997):

1. large-scale commercial farms;
2. parastatal governmental farms;
3. resettlement area farms (families)
4. small-scale commercial farms;
5. communal smallholder farms.

Their characteristics are summarized in the next table:

Characteristics of the agricultural sub-sectors (data for 1993-94)

Institutional responsibility for the agricultural sector rests with the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture (MLA). This Ministry has been strengthened during the past years through the World Bank "Agricultural Sector Management Project" (ASMP) which is now under appraisal. One of its objectives has been to formulate the "Agricultural Sector Investment Programme" (ASIP) to been implemented soon.

Agricultural research (Section 3.2) and agricultural extension services (Section 4.2) are both part of this Ministry.

The Zimbabwe remarkable development of irrigation in both the large- and small-scale sectors has been brought about by climatic constraints, including periodic mid-season drought and recurrent seasonal droughts, which make dryland cultivation a risky venture even in AE Regions II and III (Bitanihirwe, 1997). Irrigation is considered essential for wheat and sugarcane. It is preferred for coffee, tea and cotton. Recently, it has also been used for high value crops, such as tobacco and horticulture.

2.3.1 Current status of irrigation development and potential

Currently, the five agricultural sub-sectors defined above (Section 2.2) are involved in formal irrigation as shown in the following table (FAO, 1993; Bitanihirwe, 1997).

Current formal irrigation developments in Zimbabwe

In addition, informal/traditional irrigation is practised in an estimated 20000ha of wetlands/inland valley bottoms (dambos) and small gardens by many rural families. Vegetables are produced during the wet and dry seasons. Usually, irrigation is done with buckets/cans from handdug shallow wells. It is planned to introduce water lifting devices, within the SPFS Programme (Section 4.3).

The potential area which could still be developed according to available potential water resources under formal irrigation (full or partial water control) is estimated to be 240000ha, of which 90000ha for smallholder irrigation (GOZ, 1997). Water availability is considered to be the limiting factor for future irrigation developments. Available surface water will have to be stored in large, medium and small reservoirs to regulate surface flows.

2.3.2 Irrigation methods

About 75 percent of the formal irrigation area is under sprinkler/overhead irrigation, most of the remaining area (18 percent) being under surface irrigation. Micro-irrigation (drip) is used in only 7percent of the total area.

But in the specific case of settlers and smallholders, up to 90percent of the 10000ha formal irrigation area is under surface irrigation, water being drawn from rivers, storage reservoirs or deep boreholes (Bitanihirwe, 1997). The remaining 10percent is under sprinkler irrigation.

The actual tendency is to promote irrigation systems which use more efficiently limited water resources, such as sprinklers and micro-irrigation (drip). This last system will be tested/demonstrated by SPFS (Section 4.3).

2.3.3 Large-scale commercial irrigation (FAO, 1993)

To minimize the effects of drought and to improve returns on investments with high-value crops, the private sector has given a high priority to water resources development since the 1940s, particularly to reservoir construction. Currently, this agricultural sub-sector owns more than 6000 small to medium dams. Water from large government reservoirs is also used. Some of the characteristics of this sub-sector are:

• average annual growth rate is about 2000 ha;
• main financial support from the National Farm Irrigation Fund;
• operation of farms virtually independent of public support;
• mostly overhead semi-portable irrigation system in highveld region;
• mostly surface irrigation in lowveld region;
• main crops are sugarcane, wheat, soybeans and cotton;
• biggest irrigation potential in lowveld region, but potential water sources are generally located far away;
• development constraints: escalating costs of reservoir developments, increasing cost of water, higher interest rates.

2.3.4 Parastatal irrigation (FAO, 1993)

The original role of this sub-sector was to develop and initially operate/manage core estates with settlers/outgrowers (Section 2.3.5) and eventually handover the scheme to these smallholders. Such incorporation of the outgrowers has been limited until recently, the priority objective of the schemes having been switched to food and strategic commodities production.

Today, most of the schemes are still operated and managed by the parastatal Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA). The main characteristics of these schemes are:

• main irrigated crops are cotton, groundnuts and wheat;
• diversification programme underway (sugarcane, tobacco, fruit, vegetables...);
• performance of the estates varies considerably;
• most water is supplied from large rivers and public dams;
• mostly overhead (about 75 percent of area) and surface irrigation are practised;
• ample potential for new development and expansion, especially in lowveld region;
• constraints: lack of funds, lack of trained manpower.

2.3.5 Settler/outgrower irrigation (FAO, 1993)

This sub-sector has mainly developed:

• around ARDA estates (six), on 1 421 ha;
• around main sugar estates, on about 2 000 ha.

Farmers are settled on plots (from 0.8 ha to 10 ha) around core estates so that they can benefit, at cost, from local support services.

Most of the ARDA settler schemes are located in communal lands where a 99-year lease arrangement is the most common land tenure practice.

ARDA plans to divide parts of some of their estates into small units to be allocated to new settlers.

2.3.6 Smallholder irrigation (FAO, 1993)

Since Independence in 1980, the potential role of irrigation for smallholder development has been increasingly recognized (Bitanihirwe, 1997), particularly because of:

• drought proneness of the communal lands, 75 percent of which are located in AE regions IV and V (less than 650 mm rainfall per year);
• devastating effects of the recent five drought years (period 1981-92).

Although smallholder irrigation development is still at a rudimentary stage (total 6000ha), the post-Independence newly developed schemes have been better designed than older schemes:

• production of cash crops according to major market outlets has been added to food self-sufficiency;
• about 20 sprinkler irrigation schemes (800 ha) have been developed according to local topography and soils, instead of concentrating on surface irrigation only;
• drip irrigation is to be tested by the SPFS Programme (Section 4.3).

Today the tendency is for GOZ to provide all the capital development costs, including in-field works. All smallholder irrigation developments are coordinated by AGRITEX Irrigation Branch (Section 4.2), with financial/technical assistance from EU, DANIDA, UNDP/FAO (Section 2.3.7) and various bilateral donors. Many smaller projects are still developed/financed in isolation by other organizations (for example, churches, missions, NGOs). Potential for further developments is very good as demonstrated by several recent surveys.

The management of smallholder irrigation schemes differs: of the 180 developed schemes, 18 percent are still GOZ managed, 48 percent are farmer managed and 34 percent are under joint management. Government policy is now to gradually extend to all smallholder schemes the farmer management system.

2.3.7 UNDP/FAO support to smallholder irrigation

Since 1986, substantial support from UNDP/FAO has been provided to smallholder irrigation (Bitanihirwe, 1997):

• to develop a core of more than 40 planners/designers of small-scale irrigation schemes;
• to develop about 30 such schemes;
• to introduce new development methodologies, involving farmers’ participation and water conservation technologies, such as adapted sprinkler irrigation;
• to establish the Zimbabwe Irrigation Technology Centre;
• to prepare a National Action Programme on Water and Sustainable Agricultural Development (NAP-WASAD): a framework for optimum land and water resources utilization to achieve sustainable agricultural development, in particular food security and rural development (FAO, 1993);
• to develop the National Irrigation Policy - Strategy;
• to prepare a National Action Programme on Irrigation Technology Transfer and Adoption, NAP-ITTA (GOZ, 1997), see Section 2.3.8;
• to test and demonstrate new technologies/methodologies to improve food security through the SPFS Programme (Section 4.3);
• to formulate an irrigation master plan for the Save River Basin (new TCP proposal).

2.3.8 NAP on Irrigation Technology Transfer and Adoption

Recently, the NAP/ITTA has been formulated consisting of four interrelated and interdependent components (GOZ, 1997):

• C1.Policy, strategy and legislation;
• C2.Promotion of affordable/water efficient technologies;
• C3.Enhancing access to cheap/dependable water sources;
• C4.National capacity building in smallholder irrigation.

Each component consists of one or more projects with clearly defined objectives, outputs, inputs, budget and timeframe for its implementation.

Each project is to be implemented by a designated lead agency, but within the institutional and operational framework of NAP-WASAD, whose duration is four years. Whenever feasible, the integration of aquaculture with the irrigation project will be considered.

Fisheries in general is a minor sector of the national economy. Most important is the Lake Kariba artisanal fishery for kapenta (19 000 t/y) which accounts for about 70 percent of the total annual fish production (about 27 000 t). Aquaculture annual production is limited to 150t of fish and 15t of crustaceans (FAO, 1997). About 50 percent of this production is commercial.

The potential for aquaculture development is particularly important in the existing reservoirs (over 11 000), either through fishery enhancement in small ones or through intensive cage culture in larger ones (initiated in Kariba). Small-scale irrigation schemes have also a good potential through integrated fish farming. The demand for fresh fish is still high, in particular in remote areas, in spite of increased imports of frozen mackerel from Namibia.

Institutionally, aquaculture belongs to two different Ministries (Figure 3):

• aquaculture research belongs both to the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture (Department of Research/Specialist Services, Section 3.2) and to the Ministry of Mines, Environment and Tourism (Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, Section 3.1);
• aquaculture extension services are provided in the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture by the Department of Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX, Section 4.2), where aquaculture extension is integrated into the overall agricultural extension services. A specialized Fisheries Section within the Animal Production Branch provides aquaculture training and information for extension staff. At provincial and district levels, aquaculture is dealt with by a Subject Matter Specialist, together with livestock.

Major constraints exists in Zimbabwe which may affect aquaculture development, such as:

• limited water availability in most areas;
• low water temperature in winter, especially in AE Region I;
• high cost of commercial fish feeds;
• slow growth of local tilapia species;
• prevalent illegal fishing in small reservoirs and poaching in fish ponds;
• fragmented fisheries administration;
• limited GOZ funds for research and extension support.

ALCOM has been supporting aquaculture in Zimbabwe for nearly a decade, mostly through the development of new methodologies for small-scale pond farming development and for fishery enhancement in small reservoirs (Section 4.1). Assistance is also being provided to support the integration of aquaculture into smallholder irrigation through the SPFS Programme (Section 4.3).

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management (DNPWM) belongs to the Ministry of Mines, Environment and Tourism (MMET). Its new organizational structure has just been approved by the Public Service Commission for staffing at headquarters, provincial and station levels (Figure 3).

At Harare headquarters, two units of the new "Conservation and Research" Service have responsibilities for aquatic research:

• Fisheries Development: on-station research at and field research from a series of specialized research stations for aquaculture and fisheries;
• Dam Development and Fisheries Surveys: field research/surveys at small reservoirs for fishery development (mostly through enhancement) and for rural community participatory development.

Recently, two DNPWM teams have been fielded under the CAMFIRE Project to survey about 20 small reservoirs according to the new ALCOM-developed methodology. Results will be added to the ALCOM database for SADC aquatic systems (Section 4.1).

Research efforts have been hampered in the past by financial constraints and lack of adequately trained staff. Genuine efforts are being made to alleviate these constraints.

The well-stocked library is now supervised by a newly recruited librarian. Its computerized database is being linked to ALCOM information database (Section 4.1).

Research on the majority of crops, livestock and pastures is carried out by the public sector, mainly through the Department of Research and Specialist Services (DRSS), in the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture (Figure 3).

Within DRSS, the Agricultural Research Centre includes a Crops Research Unit made up of:

• the Agronomy Institute, responsible for research on rainfed crops in AE Regions I to IV;
• the Lowveld Research Station in Chiredzi, responsible for agricultural research in AE Region V, including irrigated crops. Experimental stations involved in irrigation research exist also in Chisumbanji and Meadow Save, Masvingo Province.

DRSS has also one staff (MSc Aquaculture, Stirling) stationed at Henderson Fish Culture Research Station (Section 3.1). She has been involved in on-farm research at Murewa on the use of available organic fertilizers and on the performance of local tilapia species.

Agricultural research is also carried out by others:

• Department of Veterinary Surveys (animal health);
• parastatal bodies, such as the Pig Industry Board and the Forestry Commission;
• private sector, for example, for seed production, horticulture or general research (Agricultural Research Trust, including irrigation);
• besides its development mandate, AGRITEX (Section 4.2) is also involved in research related to irrigation development such as hydraulic control of waterborne diseases and women participation, as well as on-farm trials on water requirements and water demand.

Major constraints for agricultural research are the lack of coordination between the various groups, financial constraints (public sector) and lack of qualified staff mostly due to low salaries (Bitanihirwe, 1997).

The Aquaculture for Local Community Development Programme (ALCOM) is a regional programme based in Harare from where it collaborates with SADC member countries. Originally funded by SIDA (aquaculture component) and BADC (small water bodies component), it is executed by FAO since late 1986. It is now reaching the end of its third phase (1995-97).

ALCOM’s objective is to enhance outputs from smallholder farming systems and economies through improved management of aquatic resources. To attain such objective, ALCOM implements four action programmes:

• methodology development for agricultural extension;
• utilization of small water bodies, in particular small storage reservoirs for drought relief;
• integration of fish farming into smallholder farming systems;
• information service to collect, catalogue and disseminate information related to the above programmes, through computerized databases accessible to organizations and departments of the sub-region.

Training activities are also an important part of ALCOM’s work to ensure future sustainability.

Some of the achievements of the programme of particular interest to this mission are the following:

• the integration of small-scale fish farming into smallholder irrigation systems has been tested and demonstrated in Manica Province (Mozambique), in Morogoro Region (Tanzania) and in Eastern Province (Zambia);
• technical assistance has been provided to SPFS Zambia (Chapter 5, Section 4.1) to select pilot sites to test/demonstrate integrated fish farming-irrigation and to define potential technologies applicable at each selected site (van der Mheen, 1997);
• training for fishery/aquaculture and irrigation staff, as well as for extension staff, has been provided in Zambia, in relation to the diversification (aquaculture) and irrigation components of the SPFS programme (van der Mheen, 1997);
• the methodology for fishery enhancement through stocking of small reservoirs has been developed and guidelines are being prepared;
• the methodologies for studying small-reservoir environment (physico-chemical, biological and socio-economic aspects) have been developed and tested in several SADC countries, in Zimbabwe in particular. Protocols and guidelines for these various studies are available or are under preparation.
• community-based management of small reservoir fisheries has been tested and various useful alternatives defined for reservoirs smaller than 50 ha;
• the legal context at national level for small-scale fisheries has been studied and inputs provided to improve legislations in Malawi and Zambia;
• a southern African computerized database for reservoirs has been established and is regularly updated by integrating databases available in SADC countries and information collected from all available sources;
• technical assistance has been recently provided to South African institutions to structure their database similarly to the ALCOM reservoir database, integrating information available from various institutions, for the National Aquatic Ecosystems Biomonitoring Programme (NAEBP) and the National Aquatic Conservation Committee (NACC);
• a map showing the main watersheds in the SADC region has been computer-produced and should soon become available;
• the production of a CD-ROM featuring the Water Resources of the SADC Region (12 countries) is planned.

A fourth phase of the ALCOM Programme (1998-2001) is under discussion with BADC. It includes four priority action programmes:

• small water bodies: implementation of improved management strategies by stakeholders at pilot projects, integrating fishery, watershed and water management aspects;
• aquatic farming systems: small-scale fish farming and integrated irrigation techniques aimed at incorporating fish production into traditional farming systems while conserving water resources;
• extension and outreach methodologies through both formal and informal communication channels, to transfer technologies identified in the two previous programmes;
• water resources database for SADC countries linking geographic and biological data to bibliographic information to provide a holistic service to regional users; a number of modules will be integrated into a common database:

• small water body data;
• watershed data;
• data on aquatic species distribution (in collaboration with fish taxonomists);
• fisheries (experimental/commercial) time series data;
• physico-chemical time series data;
• socio-economic data on aquatic resources;
• bibliographic references;
• graphical data on water resource use, fish and fisheries.

The Department of Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX) of the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, is the Government Department which has overall responsibility for most of the extension services (agriculture/fisheries/aquaculture) at national level.

The main objective of AGRITEX is to transform drought prone communal and resettlement areas into productive lands through the introduction of smallholder irrigation, grazing and fishery development (Bitanihirwe, 1997). Services concentrate on small-scale farmers, large-scale commercial farmers being served on request only.

Of particular interest are the Animal Production Branch and the Irrigation Branch:

• the Animal Production Branch includes a specialized Fisheries Unit based in Harare. Staff consists in a Fishery Specialist (fishery development in small reservoirs) and an Integrated Livestock/Aquaculture Specialist. Specialized training and information are provided to extension staff. Feasibility studies and technical assistance have also been carried out for NGOs involved in the use of wetlands for pond farming and in fish farming development downstream from small reservoirs. After the series of drought years, AGRITEX has restocked with fish 830 small reservoirs since 1992, initially with FAO assistance;
• the Irrigation Branch has the mandate for irrigation development. It participates in the identification of potential irrigable land for planned national reservoirs. It assesses the feasibility of agricultural components of these projects. It is directly involved with the planning, design and operation of most smallholder irrigation schemes. It also coordinates and directs donor participation in irrigation development. It provides extension services mostly to irrigation smallholders. In the past, AGRITEX has first concentrated on the rehabilitation of old irrigation schemes and then, on the creation of new schemes in communal and resettlement areas. Now it concentrates more on irrigation research (Section 3.2) and development. It will become greatly involved in the implementation of the future SPFS Programme (Section 4.3).

AGRITEX has polyvalent agricultural extension workers based in the field, to provide technical advice to smallholder farmers. These extensionists are supported by agricultural supervisors and district officers. District and provincial subject specialists provide specialized technical support to the general extension staff. Aquaculture support, in particular, is locally provided by livestock officers and it is fully integrated into the overall agricultural extension service.

The GOZ/FAO-SPFS National Programme for the pilot phase is being now finalized (Bitanihirwe, 1997). The Zimbabwe organization responsible for overall implementation and management will be AGRITEX (Section 4.2). Day-to-day implementation of SPFS activities will be ensured/monitored by a National Management Team led by a National Coordinator (an AGRITEX senior staff) assisted by an agronomist, an agro-economist, a sociologist, an irrigation engineer and a TCDC/FAO international expert in drip irrigation. Specialized consultants (for example, for the aquaculture component) will also be involved, as required.

Pilot sites have already been selected (table below) within four smallholder irrigation schemes (IS) and one communal area (CL), located in AE Regions III, IV and V where the majority of smallholder farmers live and where food security problems are most acute.

Selected pilot sites for SPFS pilot phase

Production efforts will concentrate on vegetables and some high value cash crops, such as paprika, dry beans, baby corn and citrus, even for export.

Various technological options will be tested and demonstrated, including the following:

• drip irrigation and water lifting devices;
• irrigation scheduling;
• intensification through fertilization, pest control, etc.
• diversification into poultry, new crops, fish production;
• local processing, for example, tomatoes, vegetables, milk;
• aquaculture, for better use of water resources, the recycling of crop wastes, an increased revenue base and for spreading risks.

The SPFS pilot phase will have four components:

• water control

• introduction/demonstration of low-cost irrigation systems (drip irrigation) in four pilot areas;
• demonstration of the treadle pump (one site) for 20 farmers using dambos;
• transfer of scheme management to farmers;
• demonstration of improved water management and agronomic practices to increase food production.

• intensification of crop production in four pilot areas;
• diversification: poultry, high value crops and fish productions. As far as this last aspect is concerned, a recent visit by a consultant to the proposed pilot site (Nyadire 4 irrigation scheme) has revealed that there is no real potential for integrating fish farming into the irrigation scheme. But at the special request of local farmers one small demonstration pond is to be constructed in a waterlogged area (van der Mheen, 1997);
• constraints to food security: identification and proposals for their removal.

The "Farm-level applied research methods for East and Southern Africa" (FARMESA) Programme is a sub-regional SIDA-financed field project executed by FAO (GCP/RAF/334/SWE) since July 1996 and for a first phase of four years.

Its objective is to search for alternative ways to work with resource-poor farmers, using a participatory approach for sustainable agriculture development. It primarily focuses on:

• development of methodologies and tools that allow field workers, researchers and policy makers to work with smallholder farmers and improve their living standards;
• human and institutional capacity strengthening to more fully assess issues faced by resource-poor farmers;
• information dissemination about participatory farming approaches and experiences (networking, improved communications, publications). Existing information and networking systems within the sub-region to be strengthened.

Participating countries are of two kinds:

• core countries where field site activities are present include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe;
• associated countries participate only in the information and experience exchange (five other countries within the sub-region).

In each of the core countries, an interdisciplinary National Coordinating Committee (NCC) assisted by a National Facilitator, decides on activities to be prioritized. Proposals are vetted by a Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) which takes the decision on which field site activities to sponsor. National host institutions are mostly research institutions, except in Zimbabwe where it is AGRITEX (Section 4.2).

A Coordinating Unit is based in Harare. It ensures that the experiences from the different countries are shared. It is staffed by a Project Coordinator, a Methods Specialist and a Communications/Information Specialist.

All crops (including fish) are being considered and diversification is to be promoted by FARMESA. By principle, irrigation has been excluded, the target groups being the poorest dryland smallholder farmers. Two exceptions however have been accepted:

• in Zambia, irrigation, horticulture and fish are being integrated on field sites (Chapter 5, Section 2.3);
• in Zimbabwe, for the privatization of small, government irrigation schemes.

Close collaboration with ALCOM (Section 4.1) is to be developed, primarily concerning development methodology (small water bodies and pond farming), participatory monitoring and community development.

The FARMESA Project Coordinator has expressed his interest in the African Aquaculture Information Network, as well as in the African network for aquaculture-irrigation integration. Concerning this last network, the Zambia National Facilitator, in particular, could become involved in future activities.

The SADC Sector for "Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources" (FANR) is located in Harare. It is responsible for the overall coordination of the SADC sub-sectors related to food production and food security. It is an umbrella institution which covers a cluster of related subjects, such as agricultural research, crop production, livestock production, animal disease control, marine fisheries, inland fisheries (including aquaculture), forestry and wildlife. It also coordinates a Regional Food Security Programme, part of the SADC Food Security sub-sector for which Zimbabwe has full responsibility.

It is planned that UNDP/FAO assistance will become available in 1998 to establish a general SADC database linking several modules such as:

• physical data;
• socio-economic data;
• Geographic Information System (GIS) data;
• environmental data;
• data on fisheries development (in collaboration with ALCOM databases), wildlife, etc.

SADC/FANR has expressed interest in the planned African Aquaculture Information Network with which it wishes to become associated. ALCOM Information Service could assist with this process.

The development of the agricultural sector being seriously constrained by periodic dry spells, the government has long recognized the important role of irrigation in food security, income generation, export earnings, employment creation and economic development (Bitanihirwe, 1997). A remarkable development of the irrigation sector, both at large-scale commercial and at smallholder levels has taken place, priority being first given to the rehabilitation of old schemes and to the establishment of new schemes. It is only recently that the development strategy has switched to research and development. Overhead irrigation is well developed and it is being increasingly preferred because of its more efficient use of existing water resources. Micro-irrigation is now also being considered for similar reasons.

In spite of the existence of more than 11 000 reservoirs and three large rivers, fishe-ries development is rather limited. It is a minor sector of the economy. Available human, infrastructure and financial resources are poor.

Although crop, livestock and veterinary research carried out in Zimbabwe has received international recognition, both irrigation and fishery research have not yet reached such good quality level. Research institutions in these fields are weak and their resources are very limited. There is little coordination between the various groups involved and linkages with development are few.

The SPFS Programme has not yet been implemented. In the drafted National Programme for the pilot phase, integrated fish farming has relatively little importance.

The ALCOM regional programme has gained a good experience for the integration of smallholder fish farming with irrigation in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. It has also implemented a vast programme on small-water body fishery development (enhancement, management, monitoring, legislation, socio-economics, computerized database, etc.). Networking is a daily experience both in the Information Service and in the SWB Unit where the SADC Water Resources database has been developed.

It is therefore concluded that at this moment Zimbabwe does not have sufficiently strong specialized institutions to host the future network on aquaculture-irrigation integration.

It is recommended that responsibility for this network in Zimbabwe be limited to ALCOM (if a next implementation phase is approved) through which close collaboration with national institutions/projects could be established during a transition phase.

6. LITERATURE CONSULTED

Bitanihirwe, T.Y.F., 1997. Zimbabwe: Special Programme on Food Security. National Programme Document. Harare, FAO, 44p. (draft)

FAO, 1993. National Action Programme. Zimbabwe. Rome, FAO/NAP-WASAD, 56 p.

FAO, 1997. Aquaculture production statistics 1986-1995. FAO Fish.Circ., (815, Rev.9):195p.

Government of Zimbabwe, 1997. National Action Programme on Irrigation Technology Transfer and Adoption. Rome, FAO/IPTRID, var.pag.

van der Mheen, H. 1997. Integrated small-scale irrigation and aquaculture. Mission report. Harare, FAO, 54 p.

Figure 1. Zimbabwe: administrative provinces and major towns

Figure 2. Zimbabwe agro-ecological regions

Figure 3. Organigrams of the Ministries responsible for aquaculture and irrigation research/development