AGRICULTURAL STUDIES

Definition.

 Agriculture is the cultivation of crops and rearing of animals for

consumption and providing raw materials to industry.
 Crops like maize, wheat, beans are grown and animals like cattle,
goats, pigs and birds like chickens are reared.
 It is classified in two categories subsistence and commercial farming.
 Subsistence farming is when crops and animals are produced by a
farmer to feed the family,rather than to sell to the market.
 Little insignificant suplus is sold to buy inputs for the next season.
 The main types of subsistence farming are nomadic herders,shifting
cultivation,small landholders and sedetary farming.
 Commercial farming is when crops and animals are produced to sell
at market for profit.
 Most commercial farms are highly mechanised and mainly specialised
for example tea,tobacco farming.
 It is purely for profit making.

FACTORS INFLUENCING FARMING

 A farmer makes decisions on what crop to grow, animals to rear, the

level and type of inputs and the methods s/he will use.
 The decisions are based upon a range of social, economic and
environmental factors.
 The farmer’s attitude and level of knowledge are also important.

Economic factors.

 These human factors include labour, capital, technology and markets.

1. Markets

 This generally determines the character of farming. Market demand

depends upon the size and affluence of the market population, its
religion and cultural beliefs, its preferred diet, change in taste and
fashion over time and health scares.
 Farmers grow crops that are on demand because the law of supply and
demand plays an important role to farmers.
 Markets vary throughout the year hence farmers change their
production to suit them.
 In Zimbabwe, the Government set institutions responsible for buying
agricultural produce.
 Grain Marketing Board (GMB) is responsible for grain crops mainly
maize, Cotton Company of Zimbabwe COTTCO for cotton, Zimbabwe
 Tobacco Association for tobacco, Cold Storage Commission dealing
with buying and selling of cattle.
 These companies are involved in research, training, provision of inputs
and new technologies.
 GMB and COTTCO have set depots all over the country; it is now
easier for the farmer to sell their outputs.
 GMB of late have disappointed the farmers by delayed payments of
delivered grain affecting farmer planning, since they will need the
money to buy inputs.

2. Labour

 Labour supply determines the character of agriculture.

 Intensive agriculture is essentially labour intensive.
 The cost of labour is very important in agriculture, where labour is
cheap a lot of people are employed in farms.
 Farm labourers can be skilled or unskilled and able to use farm
machinery such as tractors, harvesters and milking machines.

Farm workers harvesting tobacco

 Communal farmers rely on family labour and at times labour can be

hired.
 In some communal areas they practice community based labour
sharing practices such as Nhimbe/ilima. For the newly resettled
farmers, labour is difficult to get and it’s expensive. The former white
farmers used to pay well hence their production were very high.
  It is the supply of agricultural labour that determines the timely
sowing, harvesting and other farm duties that ensure good return on
investment.

3. Capital

 Capital is the money the farmer invests to begin farming operations.

 The modern mechanized commercial farming is capital intensive to a
large extent.
 Farmers in developing countries often lack support from financial
institutions and have limited capital resources of their own. They
resort to labour intensive methods of farming.

Money is required to by machinery like tractors

 A farmer wishing to borrow money may pay exorbitant interests rates

which makes the business unviable. In Zimbabwe financial institutions
 are very selective in giving assistance due to high non performing
loans (NPLs) in the past and the politicisation of the agricultural sector.
 Capital can be used to increase the amount of inputs into the farm
such as machinery, fences, seeds, fertilizers and tobacco burns.
 A good capital investment on a farm increases yields and gives more
profits which can be used for more investment on the farm.
 Tobacco farmers are mainly growing the crop under contract farming
for example Tiaz Tobacco and Premier Tobacco.

4. Transport

 In commercial farming, transport networks and facilities are of utmost

importance.
 These include the types of transport available, the time taken and the
cost of moving raw materials to the farm and produce to the market.
 For perishable commodities such as milk and fresh fruits, there is need
for fast transport to the market.
 The farmers need to be close to their markets or routes of
communication as this allows them to sell their goods whilst they are
still fresh.

Physical factors.

These are mainly relief, soil and climate.

1. Climate

 Climatic factors that affect agriculture include rainfall, water, light,

temperature, relative humidity, air and wind.

Rainfall

 Rainfall determines which crops to grow.

 Farmers tend to grow crops according to the amount of rainfall
received in that geographical area.
 It is essential in perpetuating both plant and animal life.
 Water is an absolute requirement for all living organisms.
 Plant growth and development is affected by rainfall, its availability or
scarcity has a bearing on the harvest.
 Water can be supplemented by irrigation during the mid-summer
drought and in winter
 In Southern Africa, rainfall is no longer reliable because of global
warming. Rainfall is now coming very late and this is affecting farming.

Temperature
  All forms of agriculture are mainly controlled by temperature.
 Temperature determines the growth of vegetation.
 It also controls all growth processes such as germination,
photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration.
 Temperature is critical for plant growth because each plant or crop
type requires a minimum growing temperature.
 If temperature is too high, plants wilt and die and if too cold; plants
will not germinate and growth is very slow.
 Plant temperature requirements differ from crop to crop for example
cotton requires high temperature whilst wheat requires low
temperatures.

2. Soil

 A rich soil in plant food is the chief requirement of successful

agriculture.
 High nutrient soil is required for successful farming; fertility depends
on humus and mineral nutrient content of the soil.

Good soil is required to produce good crops.

 A poor soil means lower output or larger inputs of fertilizers.

  60 -65% of Zimbabwe is covered with sandy soils with low nutrient
content.
 Areas with alluvial or loam soils are good for crop growth.
 The soil needs to be well drained.
 Sandy soils are too porous and lose a lot of moisture and nutrients
very fast.
 Clay soils though rich in nutrients are impermeable and promote water
logging.
 Loam soils are well drained and aerated with voids enough for free
movement of air, nutrients and water.

3. Topography

 Refers to the layout of the land and includes physical features of the
earth such as land elevation, slope and terrain.
 Altitude is the elevation of the land in respect to the level of the sea
surface. It affects plant growth through temperature effect.
 Steepness affects plant growth through differential incidence of solar
radiation, wind velocity and soil type. This determines the land
available for farming.
 A steep slope is susceptible to rapid surface run-off and soil erosion
which cause land degradation.
 It affects agriculture as it relates to soil erosion, difficulties in tillage
and poor transportation facilities.
 Low lands such as flood plains are good for agriculture, they are less
prone to erosion.
 Mechanization of agriculture depends entirely on the topography of
land.
 On rough hilly lands, the use of some agricultural machinery is
impossible.
 The steep slopes are terraced mainly for coffee and tea farming.
 Flat land is preferred for arable farming, while steep hills tend to be
reserved for grazing lands.

Technology

 Agricultural technology has to do with improved techniques of farming

including the processes, equipment, knowledge and expertise.
 Technological innovations are very important in agricultural
development.
 Technological innovations have transformed farming from Genetically
Modified Organism (GMO) and Highly Yielding Varieties (HYV) and
drought resistant varieties crops to the use of antibiotic in cattle.
 Livestock Breeding and Multiplication techniques including Artificial
Insemination (AI) and Embryo transfer (ET).
  Technological development such as new seed, cross breeding of
animals, improved machinery and irrigation may extent the area of
optimal conditions and the limit of productions.
 Developed countries like Canada are better technologically compared
to their counterparts in developing countries like Zambia.
 Machines and irrigation are two types of technology that can create
yields.
 Greenhouse with computer controlled technology provides ideal
conditions for high quality crops.
 Genetic engineering has allowed new plants to be bred that resist
drought and diseases and give a higher yield.
 The adoption of new technology by a farmer depends on affordability,
geographical area, type of farming and efficiency.

Government policy

 Political factors play a vital role in agricultural development.

 The country’s political ideology has a bearing on agriculture.
 The political system i.e. capitalistic, communist or socialism. In China
and Zimbabwe agriculture is controlled by government, countries
Canada, USA, its private concern.
 Governments help farmers by inputs subsidies, grants, regulations and
quotas. Hence an influence on agriculture for example the European
Union and Britain.
 Government can provide a market for produces by giving pre-planting
prices and responsible for training schemes and for giving advice on
new method.
 The government policies regarding land, irrigation, marketing, trade
have a direct impact on agriculture.
 Loan policy, purchase policy of the government also has a direct
impact on agricultural production and its development.
 In Zimbabwe government is helping resettled farmers by constructing
roads through District Development Fund (DDF) which is now in the
Office of the President and Cabinet (OPEC).
 The policies Governing land ownership, redistribution and resettlement
are governed by central Government.
 The participation by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and
private sector is regulated.
 In Zimbabwe the focus of government agriculture policy is to improve
and commercialise agricultural production.
Social factors

Cultural consideration

 Social factors affect farming in a number of ways. Religious beliefs

have a bearing on the type of agriculture that takes place in an area.
For example anti-tobacco lobbyist cannot grow tobacco as well as
some church doctrines prohibit the growing of certain crop and
animals.
 In the African culture, cattle are a sign of wealth but not quality or
monetary value; The Fulani and Masai cattle herders value their cattle
so much.
 Cultural beliefs have an effect on the rate of adoption of new
technology and innovations.
 In Zimbabwe, indigenous African farmers before independence resisted
the use of fertilizer and herbicides claiming they harden soil.
 Some crops like paprika that is red in colour are said to anger spirits
so you seek permission from traditional leaders before planting.

The importance of agriculture

Agriculture plays a very important role in stimulating national economies

especially in developing countries.

 Source of livelihoods in rural areas, most people rely on farming for

survival.
 Contribution to national revenue as a lot of taxes is collected by
national governments from agricultural produce.
 In most developing countries agriculture is the main contributor to
national revenue.
 It also boosts trade since most of commercial crops like coffee, tea,
and tobacco are exported. This reduces unfavourable balance of trade
of the country.
 Raw materials- agriculture supplies industries in textile, tobacco, fruits
processing and livestock feeds with raw material.
 Foreign currency earner- a lot of money is obtained from selling
commodities abroad and this brings much required foreign currency.
The foreign currency is used to import inputs and machinery to
develop the agriculture sector.
 Employments- a lot of people in developing world are employed in the
agricultural sector. Most of the economies are agro-based.
 Food security- stable agriculture assures the nation of its food
requirements and prevents malnourishment of its population
Land Tenure.

 This is the legal framework that governs the use of land for
agriculture.
 Land holding system is called land tenure.
 This is very important in agriculture it affects how the farmer utilises
the farm.

Freehold

 The land is owned privately.

 The registered owner has exclusive property rights and full control and
responsibility over the land and everything attached to it.
 Natural resources in farms like wild animals are governed by statutory
instruments.
 In Zimbabwe it is dominant in the commercial farming sector which
consists of large and small scale farmers.
 Freehold Tenure provides land owners with incentives to conserve and
improve natural resource base.
 The owners did not buy the land they were given by the colonial
government at the expense of local people which created unequal
distribution of land.
 This was the main grievance in both the first and second chimurenga
wars and recently The Fast Track Land Reform (FTLR) taken to solve
the problem of land.
 Most of the owners were white people.

Communal land Tenure

 The Land belongs to everybody in the community. Traditionally, the

chiefs had jurisdiction over the distribution of the land.
 In the modern Zimbabwe, land is governed by the Communal Land Act
and is applicable to 42% of the total land supporting 66% of the total
population.
 According to the new constitution the power is vested in the State
President who gives permission to occupation and utilisation. This
power is given to chiefs and rural district council who will dispense the
land on behalf of the state.
 The land is subdivided using inheritance laws until the plots are too
small for any meaningful agriculture.
 Communal ownership lead to poor land management characterised
with deforestation, land degradation, overgrazing and eventually
poverty.
State ownership

 The government owns farms where it undertakes family these fall

under Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA).
 The government compulsorily took farms and resettled the black
disadvantaged people.
 It gave them A1 and A2 farms.
 A1 are more like communal areas governed by permits. They have 3
to 6 hectares of arable land away from residential areas. Grazing land
and woodland are communally owned.
 A2 are commercial farms with 99 year leases and they pay rental to
central government for the land they lease. These are self contained
plots which vary from 15 to 2000 hectares of land.

THE FARM AS A SYSTEM

 A farm can be regarded as a system with inputs, processes, and

outputs from the farm.
 For a farm to be successful input costs must be lower than outputs.

Inputs

 These are the requirements that are needed to start production on a

farm.
 These have three categories physical,human and economic.

Physical Human and economic

factors
Temperature Labour
Precipitation Farm size
Relief Farm buildings
Soil Transport costs
Drainage Fertilisers
Wind Machinery
sunshine Seeds
Pesticides
Subsidies
Capital
Site
Grazing land
Fields
Physical inputs

 The scale, intensity and level of investment of farming activities are

influenced by the physical inputs such as relief, climate and soil.
 The farmer has little or no control over these but they greatly
determine the farming type to be done.
 However, sometimes farmers have to modify and adapt to the physical
inputs inorder to carry out their farming activities.
 For example if there is little rainfall irrigation is done, steep slopes can
be terraced,climate can be altered by the use of greenhouses.

Human inputs

 These are usually human and financial services needed for production
to comence such as labour, capital and technology.
 These can be subsidies that are controlled at policy level by
government.

Processes

 These are activities that take place at a farm inorder to convert the
inputs into outputs.
 These are the methods of farming such as ploughing, weeding,
milking.
 Processes vary from farm to farm, crop to crop; and type to type.

Diagram showing inputs, processes and outputs of a farm

Outputs

 These are the products from the farm.

 Good outputs results in profit.
 Some outputs can be inputs e.g. manure.

FARMING SYSTEMS

Subsistence farming

 As defined earlier on in this chapter, this is farming were nearly all

crops grown are mainly for family consumption.
 The surplus, if any, is sold although most of the time there is rarely
any.

Characteristics

 The farms are mostly small rarely more than 6 acres.

 Animal drawn implements are mostly used such as ox-drawn ploughs.
 Predominance of human labour 60-80% and only 20% from animals.
 In some instances, commercial crops like tobacco and cotton are
grown.
 Mixed cropping and inter-cropping are very common.

Types of subsistence farming

 Shifting cultivation
 Nomadic farming.

Shifting Cultivation

 It is a form of subsistence common in Tropical Africa.

 An area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few
years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been
naturally restored.

Characteristics of shifting cultivation

Purpose

 Shifting cultivation is one of the earliest types of subsistence farming.

 Farmers grow enough to feed the family.
 Common with people who resides in rain forest areas.
 They cut down and burn trees to make ash which is used as a
fertilizer.
Main features of shifting cultivation

 Rotation of fields.
 Mostly practiced in the world’s humid low latitudes which experience
relatively high temperatures and abundant rainfall.
 Practiced by nearly 250 million people in the rain forest of Africa,
South America and Central America.
 No use of ploughs.
 Use simple hand tools.
 Fire used to clear land.
 Land left for 20-30 years to regenerate.
 Use of human labour.

Inputs

 Land-small plots of about 0.5 to 1 hectares.

 Capital requirement is very low.
 Labour is required for clearing the land, sowing and harvesting.
 It is mostly provided by the family.

Processes

The main processes are:

 Clearing land
 Slashing
 Burning
 Sowing

Outputs

 Outputs per unit area are low.

 Small varieties of vegetables and grains mainly sorghum, dry land
rice, banana, maize, cassava.
 Outputs only sufficient for family consumption.

Stages in shifting cultivation

Stage 1 selecting plot

 Selecting a plot of land.

 The village elders choose a new plot in the forest.
 Trees felled and the undergrowth is cleared at the beginning of the dry
season.

Stage 2-Burning felled trees

 Trees left to dry before burning.

  Ash used to add fertility to the soil is dug into the soil.

Stage 3-Planting

 Planting is done when the ground has cooled.

Stage 4- Harvesting

 Harvesting is done during the dry season.

Stage 5-Fallowing

 After about 3 to 4years soil loses its fertility.

 Elders start to look for another piece of land.
 Field left to rest and return after 20 or more years to allow
regeneration.

Advantages of shifting cultivation

 More sunlight reaches ground.

 Natural farming method of slush and burn used to control the
infestation of weeds.
 Reduces soil borne diseases.
 Little capital is required.
 Clearing and burning of fields encourage the growth of a variety of
species of plants.
 It is environmentally friendly as it is organic farming.
Disadvantages

 Destruction of large areas of land.

 Disturbs ecosystems.
 Breaks the nitrogen cycle causing soil to lose its fertility quickly.
 Soil is left loose causing soil erosion due to deforestation.
 Loss of biodiversity as large areas of vegetation is destroyed.
 Destroys animal habitats.
 Reduces growth potential of plants.
 Promotes environmental degradation.

Case Study: Shifting Cultivation in Zambia.

 Traditionally it was practiced in region 3.

 It involves changing the crop land and homesteads after yields start
thinning.
 In Southern Africa, the most common are the Bemba and Ushi of
Zambia.
 This is called Chitemene cultivation meaning slashing and burning
agriculture as practiced in the Rain forest.
 Plots are left for 15 to 20 years as it fallows.

Inputs

 Land with trees that can be cut to provide ash.

 Ash to provide potash and phosphate.
 Climate- good rainfall and favourable temperatures.
 Seeds from previous harvests.
 Labour to clear the land and burning.
 Simple rudimental tools such as hoes, machetes and axes.
Reasons for Shifting fields and homesteads.

 When yields start to decline due to low fertility.

 Luapula district receives high rainfall which leads to leaching producing
acidic nutrient deficient soil which can support plant growth.
 After changing field for some time the homesteads becomes too far for
daily working.
 Space is available for farming because of low population pressure in
northern Zambia.

 It is easier to build new homes with locally available resources.

Map showing provinces and districts of Zambia

Processes

 The general procedures involved start from the choice of plot, its
cultivation and abandonment.
 Plots with lots of trees are chosen.
 Trees are cut down and left to dry.
 They are then burnt to make ash which is a good source of potash and
phosphates which are essential for plant growth.
 Ash is then dug into the soil.
 This is done near the onset of the rain season to minimise ash loss by
wind.
 The village elders decide when to burn; this job is done by men.
 The plot is used for three years, when yield deteriorate it is discarded.
 Simple hand tools are used such as hoes as burning makes the ground
easier to work on.
Outputs

Dominant crops are;

 Maize
 Cassava
 Millet
 Ground nuts
 Beans
 Rice
 Maniocs

Advantages

 There is good balanced exploitation of resources.

 Tools used do not disturb the soil structure.
 High yields are obtained during the first years.
 Burning controls weeds, cut worms and other soil pests naturally.
 Use of natural inputs minimises environmental pollution.
 It is cheap farming.

Disadvantages

 This method cannot be done in areas of large population.

 It causes deforestation as trees are cut to have enough ash that can
sustain plant life.
 Forests are destroyed as shown below.
  Plough cannot be used because of stumps.
 Irrigation is difficult in the case of mid-summer drought or drought
years.
 If fallow periods are not followed properly this can promote land
degradation.

Nomadic Pastoralism

 This is a form of subsistence agriculture based on herding

domesticated animals.
 The most popular groups are the Fulani of West Africa and Maasai
from East Africa.
 The Fulani move latitudinal north to south and Masai move up and
down of the Great East African Rift valley.
 The movement is necessitated by need of pastures for their herds.

Characteristics

 They depend on animals for survival.

 Animals provide milk, skins and hair used to make clothing and tents.
 They migrate to established territory to find pastures for their animals.
 Size of the herd matters than quality, it is measure of power and
prestige.

The image below shows nomads moving with their cattle.

 They do not wonder randomly, they have very strong sense of

territory, every group has its own piece and they jealously guard their
 grazing land .If a group trespasses into the other group territory a war
can erupt.
 The size of grazing land depends on group’s power and wealth.
 They have focal points they occupy for a considerable period of time.
 They supplement diet by hunting and gathering. Some practices such
farming and trading with agricultural communities for grain is done.
 Animals are not slaughtered but the dead ones might be eaten. Some
practice transhumance which is seasonal migration of livestock
between mountains and lowland pasture areas.

Process of choosing animals

 Nomads select the type and number of animals for the herd according
to local culture and physical factors.
 Choosing depends on the ability of the species to adapt.
 Herds normally are composed of camels in North Africa along with
goats and sheep.
 A typical nomad family in North Africa needs 25 to 60 goats and 10 to
25 camels.
 In West and East Africa, the herd consists of cattle, goats and sheep.

Climate

 Pastoral nomadism has adapted to dry climates, where planting crops

is almost impossible.
 They are in the large belt of arid and semi-arid areas of central and
South West Asia and North Africa.

Nomadic pattern

A normal nomadic cycle in the Northern hemisphere.

 Spring (early April to end of June) it is transition.

 Summer (End of June to late September) at higher plateau.
 Autumn (Mid September to end of November) it is transition.
 Winter (December to end of March) in desert plain.

Case Studies Fulani Cattle herders.

 The Fulani cattle herders are found in West Africa and parts of Central
Africa and parts of Sudan and Egypt.
The map showing the areas covered by Fulani cattle herders

 The movement of Fulani over years led to a pastoral calendar in which

the location and the grazing habits of the Fulani can be predicted.
 The primary occupation of Fulani is herding cattle followed by farming.
 During the rainy season they use manure on corn, millet, sorghum and
home garden field.
 Those who are less mobile engage in serious farming.

Diet

 The main food for the Fulani is corn, millet, sorghum, sugarcane, nuts
and fruits gathered from the wild.
 Their diets are changing now incorporating modern world foods, they
now eat rice, canned and processed meat, bread cooking oil and
occasionally soft drinks.

Cattle herding

 It is a household task; every member contributes and benefits from

raising animals.
  The labour is shared according to age and gender.All members have
herding skills.

Roles of men

 Management of the herd revolves on the men, children are

apprentices.
 Men are the household providers.
 They protect animals from predators and raiding tribes.
 They take animals to distance pastures, feed them with fodder, dig
wells and make weapons.
 The elders choose the best grazing sites.

Women

 Women and girls cook food, weave mats, spin cotton, thread,
household decoration, collect herbs and vegetables.
 Milk cows, sell milk and make butter.
 Grow vegetables, raise poultry and non-ruminant animals.
 Cleaning compound, fetching water, collecting firewood; bearing and
nurturing children.

Mobility

 About 92% of the Fulani have a place they call home. Although they
engage in extensive pastoral movement they will go back to their
permanent homes especially during the summer season.
 Pastures will be in abundance so no need to travel to distant areas. It
will be more like holiday time with family.

Reasons for movements

 Looking for greener pastures for the animals.

 Moving away from harmful insects such as tsetse flies, harsh weather
conditions, livestock thieves and tax assessors.
 Preventing permanent soil damage, so they move away to give ground
enough time to recover.
 Local politics and ethnic pressure.
 Consideration of water, grass, market, safety, diseases, access to
roads and sociological conditions.
 Movements are determined by the weather.

Pastoral daily routine.

 At sunrise the Fulani free the animals from the kraals and take them to
grazing lands.
  In the afternoon the herders return for milking and watering, take
them back to graze till sunset.
 Throughout the night, they keep watch on the animals, protecting
them from night marauders.
 A daily task differs with season.

Annual Pastoral Cycle.

1. October to November (end of wet season).

 Marks the end of the wet season and beginning of dry season.
 Dry soils allow animals to move easily.
 Onset of the Southward migration which involves moving along rivers
and stream valleys.

2. January to February (Harmattan season)

 Tsetse fly population reduced due to low humidity and dryness.

 Animals resort to bush stubble grazing.
 Water becomes scarce and animals lose weight.
 More frequent visits to permanent water sources.
 More southward movement.

3. March to April (Beginning of the hot season).

 These are the hottest and toughest months for the Fulani.
 They continue with the south movement.
 Herds now eat anything along the way no more selection of pasture by
animals.
 Animals graze evening and night and rest during the day when
temperatures are too high.

4. May to June (end of the dry season)

 End of the hot season and beginning of the rain season.

 Fresh pastures shoot up.
 Herders start the northward movement following the clouds.
 Fields now have crops and herders make sure fields are not destroyed
by animals.

5. June to September (Rainy season)

 This is the peak of the rain season.

 The Fulani reach their north most permanent homes in July.
 This is now resting period, spending time with their families.
 Due to abundance of pastures the animal breeds during this time.
 The grazing periods are short, animals only graze for 6 hours.
  This is the Fulani women's busiest month in milk business.

Types of animals kept

 The herd consists of beefers, milkers, breeders, labourers, cash

generators, and stock beautifiers.
 The slow maturing Sokoto Red cow and the lyre horned white Fulani
cattle are the main stay of pastoral Fulani holdings.
 The Kano brown cattle are hardy, prolific breeders and voracious
eaters. They are popular with agro-pastoralists because of their
extensive use for ploughing and carting.
 The white Fulani, though less hardy has higher milk and beef yields
compared with Sokoto Red.

Advantages of nomadism

 It is a system of land use adapted to climatically marginal conditions.

 Land is protected from permanent damage.
 Movement enables pastures time to recuperate.
 Problem of pests like tsetse flies are prevented.
 Trade between nomads and sedentary farmers is promoted, they do
barter trading, grain for livestock.

Disadvantages

 The livestock is of poor quality, emphasis on quantity than quality.

 Animal diseases are common since no veterinary services are
practiced, they rely on traditional ways of keeping livestock.
 Overstocking since number is not limited.
 At times conflicts occur between herders themselves and with
sedentary farmers over land.
 It is difficult to provide basic social amenities since they are always
moving, infrastructure like dip tanks will be difficult to construct.
 Erosion near water holes by trampling.

Transformation of nomadism.

 Contact with other people has led to some changes to the way of life of
the nomads.
 A frequent contact with tourists and sedentary farmers has promoted
trade.
 Interaction with urban areas is giving nomads enthusiasm for learning.
 The freedom of movement is reduced by development of urban areas.
  Governments have converted pasture lands into game parks and
fenced to control diseases.
 The political borders now limit them from accessing their traditional
pastures.
 Governments in West and East Africa have started sedentarisation of
nomads by restrictive legislations, drilling of boreholes, dip tanks,
veterinary services, tsetse fly control and resettlement.
 Nomads are now realising more money from good livestock
management brought by modernisation.

Sedentary arable farming

 In the pre-colonial African communities they practiced shifting

cultivation, bush fallowing and nomadism.
 The colonial era changed this type of life by setting political boundaries
and restricting movements.
 Most communities were given permanent places to reside and farm by
the colonial governments.
 Population growth increased the demand for land so moving from one
place to another was no longer possible.
 Civilization required people to be settled for them to get social services
like education and health.
 In Zimbabwe, legislations were passed by colonial regime like the Land
Appointment Act which restricted movements.
 This led to sedentary farming which is commonly known as communal
farming.

Communal, semi subsistence farming

 It is practiced at the same place by a settled farmer.

 The same land is farmed year after year, fields are not rotated.
 In modern Africa, most farmers are now settled; producing food for
the family.
 Most of these are peasant farmers who practice mixed farming.
 They grow crops like maize,sorghum,millet,sweet potatoes,beans,cow
peas,groundnuts,round nuts, sunflowers and rear animals like
goats,sheep,cattle,pigs,poultry etc.
 In recent years subsistence farmers have been increasing the hectares
under commercial crops like tobacco and cotton.
The table below shows the inputs, processes and outputs of a communal
farm.

Inputs Processes Outputs

Land Ploughing Maize
Rainfall Weeding Meat
Temperature Planting Milk
Fertilizers Cultivating Tobacco
Seeds Spraying Sweet potatoes
Ploughs Milking Eggs
Draught animals Harvesting Manure
Labour shelling Cotton
Stockfeeds Slaughtering Groundnuts
Fowl runs Round nuts
Scotch carts
Manure
Capital
Knowledge
Skills

Problems faced by communal farmers

 Low and unreliable farming.

 Animals die because of drought and crop failure is high.
 Soil erosion as most communal areas suffers from uncoordinated
management.
 The soils are exhausted and this results in low yields.
 Land tenure in communal areas does not give private ownership hence
leading to lack of stewardship of the environment.
 The plots are too small (about 6 acres) and they keep on fragmenting
them giving sons who have married.
 Low level of technical knowhow of farming.
 Shortages of grazing areas in most rural areas. The cattle are getting
smaller and smaller.
 Their outputs fetch low prices at the market.
 It has led to overgrazing in some areas.
The picture below shows an overgrazed area at Dzuda village in Ruwombwe
ward of Makoni district.

 Lack of capital to buy inputs and do some investments on the farm.

 Prices at markets are not encouraging as farmers are getting low
prices for their produce especially at tobacco and cattle auctions
 Poor road networks in most rural areas, some are even very far from
reliable roads.
 Lack of draught power due to persistent droughts as oxen are dying
leaving farmers without draught power.
 Inputs given by government at times come too late.

Possible solutions to problems faced by communal areas.

 The government should construct dams in the communal areas and

promote irrigation of short season variety crops.
 Teach the farmers conservation techniques.
 Use fertilizers and organic manure to feed the soil.
 Practice crop rotation to allow soil nutrients to regenerate.
 To avoid abuse of common resources in communal areas, give the
farmers private land ownership.
 Deploy more agricultural extension workers.
  In some areas there is need to destock to have appropriate cattle
carrying capacity in those areas.
 Government should guarantee loans to farmers by banks, since
communal farmers have no collateral that is required by banks.
 Encourage farmers to rear donkeys that are drought resistant as
draught power.
 The District Development Fund should offer tillage services at a fee to
the farmer.
 Land audit to make sure that all settled farmers are fully utilizing the
land given to them.
 Unutilized farms should be used to resettle more farmers in congested
communal areas.
 Reduce the size of unproductive farms and resettle landless people.

Case Study

Aspects of Mixed communal farming: Dzuda Village in Ruwombwe

Ward, Makoni District

 Ruwombwe ward lies in Agro-ecological region 3 which is characterized

by hot summers and receives less than 750mm of rainfall per year.
 The area has not been spared by changing pattern of weather.
 It no longer receives higher rainfall as it used to be in the past.
 Ruwombwe ward now receives frequent mid-summer droughts and
delayed onset of the rain season.
 When rain falls it is heavy and leads to leaching and crops turn yellow.

Farming

 Mixed farming is practiced by most if not all farmers in this ward.

 Most of the inputs are natural like rainfall and land.
 Oxen are mostly used as draught power and in some few instances
donkeys are used.
 Some families now combine both cows and oxen as draught power
since most oxen died during years of drought.
 Cattle manure, and anthill soils are used to add fertility to the soil.
 Hand tools like hoes are used mainly by women in making ridges were
they grow brown rice, madhumbe and tsenza in the vleis or wetlands.
 Weeding and planting is done using family labour.
 Young boys do the milking of cows, cattle herding by fathers and
mothers in the morning up to mid day, when children are at school,
when children come back they take over the herding after lunch.
 Cattle herding is done collectively as a village taking turns giving each
family 2 days.
 They also rear goats and sheep.
  The table below shows the inputs, processes and outputs of their
farming activities.

Inputs Processes Outputs

Land Planting Maize

Fertilizers Weeding Groundnuts
Rainfall Harvesting Round nuts
Cattle manure Ridging for sweet Madhumbe
Seeds potatoes and Tsenza
Labour madhumbe,tsenza Sugarcane
Draught power Milking Water melons
Handy tool like hoes Ploughing Pumpkins
Ox drawn implements e.g. Cultivating Beans
Plough,harrow,cultivater,ridger Vegetables
Anthill soil Fruits
Meat
Milk
Cow peas
Meat (pork, beef
and chicken).
Rice
Pumpkins
Sweet reeds
Sweet potatoes

 The main output is maize which is the staple food, followed by

vegetables like rape and covo used as relish in most of the meals.
 Other grains like sorghum, millet and rapoko are grown at small scale.
Sorghum mainly grown to brew traditional beer for traditional
ceremonies like kurova guva and rain making.
 Cattle are kept not for slaughtering but for prestige, draught power
and milk.
 In some few occasions they slaughter goats and chicken when they
have visitor while cattle are mainly slaughtered at bigger functions
such as funerals and weddings.
 Groundnuts and round nuts are mainly cultivated by women.
 Most small crops are grown under intercropping with the main crop
maize for example beans, pumpkins, cow peas, water melons and
sweet reeds (ipwa).
Problems faced by communal farmers in Ruwombwe ward

 Lack of draught power as most farmers lost their cattle during the
1992 drought and have failed to recover.
 Unreliable rainfall as the area now receives rainfall below its normal
and this is leading to heavy crop failure.
 Late payments for delivered grain by Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
 Government inputs are coming too late almost in mid-summer season.
 The department of veterinary service no longer comes regularly to dip
animals, hence cattle dying of tick borne diseases.

The picture below shows the poor quality of cattle in Ruwombwe ward.

 Overgrazing due to overstocking by some farmers.

 Deforestation and soil erosion.
 The plots are too small for any meaningful agriculture.
 River siltation because of stream bank cultivation, most of their
gardens are on stream banks.

Possible solutions.

 Use other draught animals like donkeys.

  Should harness water from Nyamapembere River and start irrigation
schemes.
 The government should distribute inputs before the onset of the rain
season.
 GMB should do timeous payments to allow farmers to buy inputs on
time.
 Villagers should contribute and buy their own chemicals to dip animals
than to wait for the Veterinary Department.
 Some families need to be resettled to decongest the area.
 Food for Work schemes should resume and community members
should take part in gully reclamation to control erosion.
 Destocking of livestock to the acceptable levels.
 Stream bank cultivation must be stopped with culprits fined.

Commercial Farming
 This is large scale production of crops and livestock for sale.
 Commercial crops grown include wheat, maize, tea, coffee, sugarcane,
cotton, banana etc.
 Livestock kept include pigs, beef, dairy cows, and poultry.
 Harvested crop may be processed on site to add value before selling to
wholesalers.
 The main objective is to make higher profits through economies of
scale, specialisation, capital intensive techniques.
 Maximize yields per hectare through synthetic and natural resources
(Fertilisers, hybrids seeds, irrigation).
 Modern equipment, specialisation and technological development are
used.

Animal husbandry
 Animal husbandry is the rearing of livestock.
 Commercially, the most important animal husbandry activity is cattle
rearing which is split into two categories dairying and ranching.

Dairy farming
 This a specialized type of commercial livestock farming particularly
cows in order to produce fresh milk and milk products like cheese or
butter.
 A dairy farm is a system with inputs, processes and outputs.

Inputs Processes Outputs

Bulls Grazing Milk
Warmth/temperature Calving Calves
Rainfall Milking Milk products (fresh
Pastures Irrigating milk, cheese, butter).
Breeding cows Managing pastures Manure
Fodder/stock feeds Dipping
Labour Bailing hay
Feeds Feeding
Fertiliser Cleaning
Vaccines Fencing
Management
Technology
Machinery

Characteristics of dairy farming

 Products are highly perishable, milk and milk products.

 Capital intensive, lot of money is required to buy the cows, machines,
chemical and stock feeds.
 It is usually located near the market (urban areas).
 Requires good transport network for swift transportation of products to
the market.
 Makes use of refrigerated trucks to transport the product especially
fresh milk.
 Labour intensive as labour is required for cleaning, milking, grazing
animals, and transportation of the milk.
 It is an intensive type of farming, there is high output per unit area.
 The size of holding is small less than 50 hectares.

There are two ways of keeping dairy cow zero grazing and grazing.

Zero grazing

 Cows are kept in pens and fed there.

 Mainly because of shortage of land in peri-urban areas.
 Need to reduce pressure on grass and soil.
The image below shows a forage harvester cutting grass to feed cows.

 Grass is grown elsewhere and cut to feed the cows in shed.

 Pastures are given enough time to restore and fertiliser application is
done easily.

Dairy cows in feeding pens

 Use of high yielding fodder such as Napier grass and forage species.
 Use of crop residues and other forms of waste like molasses as feed to
the cows.
  Minimum or no movement conserves the cow’s energy and therefore
increases milk yields.

Grazing dairy cows.

 Cows graze in pastures.

 Pastures include high nutritious legumes and grass.
 Movement is controlled by fence
 Feed supplemented by high protein cotton seed cake
 Pastures are rotated to give enough for restoration.
 Some energy is lost due to movement and this affects milk production.
 It cheaper to maintain than zero grazing.

Cow grazing a well maintained pasture.

Case study: Dairying in Zimbabwe.

 Dairy farms are mainly located in the watershed areas of Mashonaland
East and Midlands provinces.
 Others are scattered in all provinces.

The factors that have influenced distribution of dairy farms are climate, soil,
moisture, pastures, market, transport and capital.

Climate.
  Concentrated in areas with a temperature of about 21˚C.
 Rainfall ranges from 600 to 1000mm per annum.
 A cool wet climate with lots of water is preferred.
 Climate free from pest and diseases.
 Regions of moderate to low humidity are favoured by dairy cows.

Soil moisture

 Dairying need soils that can retain water

 Soil that support fodder grasses.
 Pastures like alfalfa, kudzu and Lucerne need fertile soils.

Availability of pasture

 Rich nutritious pastures are required for dairying.

 These are found in valleys and in highlands on the high veld.
 Planted leguminous and grass such as napier are grown.

Market

 Dairy farms are market oriented so they have to be close to the

market.
 They are located to markets were demand for milk products is high
because milk is a perishable commodity.
 Great populations in urban areas are a good market for milk and the
other products like yoghurt and ice cream.
 Urban populations have disposable income to purchase milk products.
 The area where a town draws its milk is called its milk shed
 Big cities like Harare have larger milk shed than small cities like
Bindura
 Dairy farms are near urban areas because that’s where they get inputs
like feeds, vaccines.
 Milk is the raw material required by companies which process milk into
various products like Cheese.

Transportation

 Fresh milk is a highly perishable product and therefore needs to be

quickly transported to the market.
 Dairy farms need to be along major highways.
 Milk can be transported within a 300km radius of a main market like
Harare.
 The farms very far from market use refrigerated trucks to carry the
milk to the market for example Rusitu in Chipinge milk is delivered to
Harare more than 300kilometers away.

Capital
  Dairy farming is capital intensive, substantial amount of money is
required to purchase stock feeds, cows, chemicals, cans, housing,
handling milk and milking machines.
 Profits in dairy farming can only be realized after about 5 to 10 years
so the farmer must have enough funds to sustain dairy farming.
 Established farmers can get loans from banks to finance dairy
business.

Types of dairy cows kept in Zimbabwe

 There are several types of dairy cows kept including both indigenous
and exotic breeds.
 These are Jersey, Friesland, Tuli, Guernsey and Ayrshire.
 Milk level differs with type of breed.
 Indigenous breeds produce about 1 to 3 litres per day, cross breeds 4
to10 litres per day and purebred exotic more than 10 litres per day.

The table show the types of breeds kept in Zimbabwe.

Breed Characteristics.
 An indigenous milk cow that
generally has low milk output
compared to exotic breeds
 But fits the local conditions
better.

Tuli
Jersey  Brown to yellowish to nearly
black.
 A mature cow weighs 450kg.
 Hard suited for hot humid
conditions.
 Its milk has a yellowish colour.
 It has lower milk compared to
Friesland.
 Its milk has higher butterfat
content.
 It is an exotic breed.

Friesland/Holsteins  Rugged animal with very large

 udder
 Weighs 750kg when mature with
distinct black and white
markings.
 Produces high quantities of milk
and beef.
 Tolerate hot dry areas, requires
fodder in dry season.
 It an exotic breed.

Guernsey  Golden yellow to red with white

marks.
 Mature cow weighs 545kg.
 Good milk yields second to Jersey
in milk fat.

Ayrshire  Light to deep red, mahogany or

brown or white alone.
 Weighs 500kg when mature.
 Difficult to milk with machines
because of small teats.
 Produces less milk.
 Good grazer under difficult
conditions.

Case Study: Commercial Ranching

 Ranching is the extensive rearing of livestock to produce meat for sale.
 A ranch is a wide area varying from 1000 to 50 000 hectares or more
in size.
 The cattle herd range from 500 to 10 000.
 Ranching is done in two ways open grazing system with herdsmen and
paddock system.

Open grazing system

  Cattle graze on open veld during the day and at night are put in
pens to guard against predators and thieves.
 It is usually practiced by small farmers.
 Less productive

Paddocking

 Cattle are put in paddocks.

 The paddocks are secured with fencing against predators and
thieves.
 Fence restricts the contact of cattle with wild animals like buffalos
which are careers of foot and mouth diseases.
 The paddocks are rotated to give pastures time to recover.
 Less use of herdsman and productivity is high.

Location of ranches.

 Beef cattle are more tolerant to wide variety of environmental

conditions including hot drier semi arid parts of the country which
receives about 400mm of rainfall per year.
 Ranches are in marginal areas where human population densities are
low.
 The carrying capacity per unit area is low each animal needs 10 to 12
hectares to avoid overgrazing.

Image below shows cattle grazing in a ranch

  The areas should be free from pests and diseases such as foot and
mouth, anthrax and tsetse flies.
 It is also done in wetter part of the country but using smaller farm due
to higher carrying capacity.
 Hot dry areas of the country have sweet veld runner grasses, thorn
bushes, and mopane trees whose leaves are very nutritious to
livestock.
 The areas need proper and efficient diseases control and monitoring
system.
 This involves controlled movement of livestock from one area to
another.
 Use of foot- bath is a common methods for motorists and pedestrians
entering areas controlled like the border of Zimbabwe and Botswana
 Use of buffer zones to check movement of livestock and preventing the
movement of affected stock that is quarantined.

Ranching as a system

Ranching like any other farming system has inputs processes and outputs.

Inputs Processes Outputs

Large land Breeding Meat
Capital Calving Horns
Bulls and cows Feeding Hooves
Dipping chemicals Watering Bones
Fences Castrating bullocks Capital
Poles Dehorning Manure
Labour Dipping Bulls
Transport Vaccinating Bullock or steers(2-3
Water Slaughtering years)
Salt Fattening Cows-after 8 years
Silage Transporting breeding period
Vaccines Marketing Hides
Knowledge and Fencing Tallow(inedible fat for
expertise Dosing soap making)
Weaning Hoof oil
Herding

Types of ranching breeds in Zimbabwe

 In Zimbabwe the indigenous breeds which are better adapted to

prevailing conditions are the Mashona, Tuli and Ngoni.
 Commercial Zimbabwean cattle breeds are Aberdeen Angus, Hereford,
Sussex, Brahman and Afrikander.
 The table below lists these breeds.

Breed Characteristics
Afrikander  The Afrikander breed is
common in South Africa,
Zimbabwe and Botswana
 It is a good drought
resistant breed.
 Produce good quality beef.
 Mature bulls weigh between
500 to 900kg.
 Suitable in areas that
receives of about 400mm.
Hereford  Hereford is one of the
leading exotic breeds in
Zimbabwe.
 Known for its longevity.
  It is a fast growing breed.
 Medium maturity beef
breed.

Brahman  Medium in size.

 It is a late maturity breed.
 Carcasses of young animals
tend to be lean.
 Kept in both wet and dry
regions.
 Produces very good beef.

Aberdeen Angus  Resistant to harsh

conditions.
 Matures early.
 High carcass yield with
nicely marbled meat.
 They are good beef
producers.
 Widely used in cross
breeding to improve carcass
quality and milking ability.

Conditions and activities promoting ranching

Capital

Ranching requires substantial amount of money for:

 Fencing to create paddocks for controlled rotational grazing.

 Installing water points such as boreholes which should be 4 to 5km
apart, small dams, pumps, feeding troughs, pipes and cattle dips.
 Pasture and stock management processes such as bush clearance,
planned burning, weed control, planting and irrigating pastures, paying
labour, buying vaccines, stockfeeds, fertilisers for pastures.
 Buying the initial stock.
Expert management

 The farmer has to plan and carry out a number of activities.

 The aim of ranching is to produce as many animals as possible within a
short space of time.
 Male calves have to be castrated to become bullocks and are fattened
and sold when they are one and half to three years old.
 When a cow can no longer produce good calves it is slaughtered.
 Farmer does selective breeding, choosing the best bulls for pure or
cross breeding. They also do pedigree as a way of keeping the breed
pure without crossing with other breeds.
 To do all these, great skill is required and farmers normally hire expert
and employ them as managers.
 Knowledge in castrating, dehorning, dosing, vaccinating, dehorning,
destocking, livestock handling and fattening is crucial at a ranch.

Marketing

 Access and knowledge of markets is very important.

 In the past, Zimbabwe used to sell its beef to European Union (EU) but
the outbreaks of foot and mouth and anthrax affected that market.
 At the moment most of the beef is consumed locally.
 The Cold Storage Commission (CSC) has the mandate to market beef
in Zimbabwe.
 The government needs to inject a lot of money in ranching to
resuscitate the beef industry which used to be one of the best in
Southern Africa.
 At the moment the ranchers are failing to meet the domestic demand,
as a result Zimbabwe now imports beef from South Africa, Botswana
and Namibia.

Constraints in ranching and possible solutions

Problem Possible solution

Drought and water shortages  Purchase supplementary feed
 Relocating animals to wetter
areas
 Destocking by selling in good
time
 Slaughtering
Risky business and takes time to  Diversify with wild life
start realizing profits, it is a long management
term investment  Ostrich farming to broaden
income base
Outbreak of diseases like foot and  Efficient control and monitoring
mouth and anthrax. Pests like tsetse  Research in more resistant
flies and ticks breeds.
Lack of adequate land as a result of  Government should be strict on
the land resettlement programme - land use monitoring and tenure
land set aside for ranching now used system.
for crop farming.
 Punish offender severely
Stock theft
Uncontrolled movement of cattle  Strict control of livestock
movement.
 Cattle branding for easy
identification

Commercial Crop Husbandry

 Involves the growing of crops on a large scale.
 It is an agri-business with the aim of making profit.
 To achieve high profits, the farmer must have adequate capital,
knowledge, land and suitable climate.
 Crops are grown under horticulture, plantations and on mixed farms.

Advantages of crop production

 Promotes self-sufficiency in food supply.

 Improves diets of citizens.
 Foreign currency earner.
 Creates employment.
 Supply raw material to industries.
 Fosters the development of infrastructure like roads.

Disadvantages

 Takes much land at the expense of communal farmers.

 Monopoly leads to high prices.
 Some land lie idle in commercial farms.
 Underpaying of farm workers.
 Poor housing and sanitation facilities for the farm casual workers.
 Use of child labour during crucial periods like picking and harvesting.

TOBACCO FARMING
Growing Conditions.

 It is mainly grown in region 2.

  Rainfall requirements are 700-1000mm.
 Require average temperatures of about 210 C.
 Favours well drained sandy loam soils.
 Tobacco nursery done in fertile soils.

The image below show tobacco seedlings ready for transplanting

 Seedbeds are mulched to retain moisture.

 Tools are washed in formalin to protect seedlings from diseases and,
also, to fumigate to pests.
 Fields are ridged using tractors in preparation for transplanting.
 This is all done between September and October.
 Transplanting of seedlings is done together with irrigation of the
plants.
 Weeds are controlled by spraying or physically weeding by hand.
 Harvesting is done by hand when the crop is ripe.
 Crop ripens at 2 levels per week.
 Ripe leaves turn golden in colour.
 Tractor collects the harvested leaves to a barn for curing.
Processing and marketing

 Tobacco processing is called curing which is the controlled removal of

moisture from the leaf.
 The image below shows ripe tobacco leaves ready for curing.

Ripe tobacco leaves ready for curing using the tunnel system

 Flue curing occurs in barns by use of pipes (called flues) that carry
steam around the barn.
 The steam in flues raises barn temperature.
 Leaves wither slowly and become tender.

Well cured tobacco with the golden colour

 Sun and fire curing is done on racks in the open.
 Sorting the leaves is next done on the basis of type, colour, size,
texture and blemish.
 The image below shows workers sorting tobacco leaves.

 Packing occurs to transport the tobacco to auction floors for sale.

Tobacco bales ready for market being loaded into a lorry.
 Tobacco bales displayed at an auction floor in Harare

 International buyers come and buy the tobacco at the auction floors.

Benefits of tobacco farming

 Creates employment to thousands of people.

 Brings in about 30% of the country’s total foreign currency earnings.
 Accounts for about 12% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

Problems

 Leads to destruction of forests especially by the small scale farmers

who cannot afford to buy coal for curing.
  World anti-tobacco lobby threatening the viability of the crop because
of health concerns, i.e. smoking causes lung cancer and respiratory
complications.
 Stiff competition from other producers like Brazil, Russia, Malawi, etc.
 Prices on the auction floors are not predictable.
 Labour costs are now very high.
 Coal prices are beyond the reach of many farmers.
 Prolonged rains reduce the quality of the crop.

Wheat production
Growing conditions

 It is a capital intensive crop mainly grown by commercial farmers.

 Capital is required for seeds, irrigation equipment, fertilisers and
machinery.
 It is grown in winter because it does well in cooler climates.
 Grown in winter under irrigation.
 Temperature 15 to 24˚C.
 Requires rainfall amounts of at least 1000mm.
 In Zimbabwe it is irrigated because very little rainfall is received in
winter.
 Requires clayey but well drained soil.
 Flat or undulating land is ideal to enable use of machinery at
harvesting.
 Main growing season is April to September.
 Boom or sprinkler irrigation as well as spraying by hand and light
aircraft.
 Harvesting is done by combine harvesters.
 The image below shows a ripe wheat field.
 A ripen wheat crop ready for harvesting

 The crop must be protected against birds.

Processing and Marketing

 Harvesting is done by combine harvesters which cut and thrash the

crop leaving behind thick broken stalks to use as animal feed.
 The harvested wheat is collected in tractors to the GMB depots.
 The image below shows wheat being harvested by a combine
harvester.
  After harvesting, it is then sold to millers who makes floor and sell to
bakeries.
 Wheat production has gone down to very worrying levels after the fast
track land reform programs.
 The country used to produce 200 000 tonnes of wheat annually.
 At the moment most of the wheat is imported.

Problems

 Wheat rust and fungal infection requires expensive chemical to

combat.
 Shortage of irrigation water to irrigate the crop.
 Birds and pests destroy the crop before harvesting for example quail
birds.
 Shortage of machinery as sometimes it is hired from South Africa.

Case Study: Market gardening

 Market gardening or horticulture is the intensive commercial
production of vegetables, fruits, flowers and other plants.
 It is different from other farming types because of the diversity of
crops grown.
 Smallholder farmers have plots of about 0.5 to I hectare.
 Market gardening is a market oriented agri-business, so most of them
are close to towns which are the markets.
 Inputs are obtained from the towns as well.
 Fresh produce is sent to the market throughout the year.
 Farmers need efficient means of transport to carry the produce to the
market.
 Large investment of time and money is required.
 Production per unit area is very high and lots of inputs are required to
realize maximum yields.
 Production is usually done in greenhouses for better yields as they
provide ideal conditions.
 Vegetables being grown in a greenhouse

 It is capital intensive because money is required to purchase fertiliser,

chemicals, hybrid seeds, spraying machines and irrigation equipment.

Smallholder Market Gardening.

 The leading vegetable and fruit producing areas are around Harare,
within 150km radius.
 Communal areas like Chinamhora, Seke, Murehwa, Domboshava and
Chihota supply the Mbare Farmers’ Market.
 They mainly produce tomatoes, vegetables, onions, potatoes and
carrots.
 The image below shows smallholder market gardeners working in a
tomatoes plot.
  The areas are well connected to Harare by tarred roads.
 Transport is normally hired small trucks.
 Mbare Musika is their main market which handles over 350 000 tonnes
of produce from smallholder farmers yearly.
 Access to main stream markets is not easy for smallholder market
gardening farmers.
 Supermarkets and retail shops seem not to trust produce from this
sector.
 A lot of these farmers also do road side marketing along the highways.
 Recently, Brands Africa established linkages with small holder market
gardening farmers by buying their produce.
 If more of such linkages are established this sector will see enormous
improvement.

Commercial Market Gardening

 They operate on small holding around the city.

 Characterized by greenhouses on peri-urban plots.
 They are close to town because products are highly perishable.
 This minimises transport cost and increase the profit margin.
 They sell most of their produce to supermarkets like Ok Zimbabwe,
Pick n Pay, Spar, hotels and renowned restaurants.
 They have good linkages with schools, institutions, hospital, as well as
grocery shops.
 Market gardening is intensively done; production per unit area is very
high.
 A lot of capital is injected to purchase irrigation equipment, seeds,
fertiliser, electricity bills, labour and transport.
 Some of the market gardeners export their product to Europe for
example flowers and special vegetables such as the Kintyre plots.
  Exporting to Europe is done by Air Zimbabwe on refrigerated cargo.
 Other horticulturists from places like Cashel Valley bottle or tin their
produce before marketing, e.g. Cashel baked beans.

Constraints of market gardening

The constraints faced by market gardeners or horticulturist include:

 Lack of proper refrigeration facilities.

 Transport unreliability and costs.
 Stiff competition from cheaper imported products.
 Inputs are very expensive hence only few elite farmers can grow the
most paying crops.

Irrigation farming
 Irrigation farming is the application of water to grow crops when the
climatic conditions in that location cannot sustain plant life.
 Irrigation harnesses water from water sources like rivers and dams for
agricultural purposes.
 In most of the areas precipitation is insufficient.

Importance of irrigation farming

 Increases food production for ever expanding human population.

 Crops are produced throughout the year and ensure food security.
 Counter the problem of mid-summer drought.
 Allows us to grow winter crops such as wheat.
 Marginal areas are made useful for example the lowveld of Zimbabwe
where sugarcane is grown under irrigation.
 Make use of water that could have just flow to the ocean.

Environmental Factors promoting irrigation farming.

 Vast expanses of gently sloping land which allow easy laying of

irrigation equipment.
 Clayey sub-soils are preferred as they reduce water loss through
seepage.
 The heat in the lowveld promotes plant growth and reduces incidences
of diseases and pests.
 Large rivers and aquifers provide water throughout the year for
irrigation. Dams can also be constructed to store water.
Methods of irrigation

 Irrigation methods are the techniques used to apply water to the

plants.
 For plants to get adequate water, the irrigation methods need to be
efficient.
 Irrigation methods can be grouped into three groups namely surface,
overhead and subsurface.

Surface irrigation

 Water is applied on the surface using mainly three ways which are
furrow, basin and canals.
 Canals is the partial surface flooding method of irrigation normally
used with clean tilled crops where water is applied in furrows or rows
of sufficient capacity to contain the designed irrigation system.
 Water is distributed by force of gravity on gently sloping fields and no
pumps are used.
 The image below shows this irrigation method.

Surface irrigation

 It is the cheapest method of irrigation preferred by both small scale

and large scale farmers.
 It ensures that all water soaks into the soil.
 Water is harnessed from the river or water reservoir through a
network of canals, channels and furrows.
 Basin irrigation is another type of surface irrigation.
 Surface irrigation is wasteful because water irrigates areas without
plants.
Overhead irrigation

 Under this method, water is applied on top of the plants just like the
normal rainfall.
 It is more efficient than surface irrigation.
 The main types are centre pivot, sprinkler and travelling gun.

Centre pivot

 This is an automated sprinkler irrigation machine.

 It rotates the sprinkler pipe or boom supplying water to the
sprinkler heads or nozzles.

A centre pivot work

 Water is delivered to the centre of the pivot of the system and is

applied at a uniform rate.
 Centre pivot is easily movable and ensures greater water efficiency
compared to the traditional overhead sprinkler system.
 It is very expensive to buy and maintain but less labour is required.

Sprinkler

 This is planned irrigation system in which water is applied by means of

perforated pipes or nozzles operated under pressure so as to form a
spray system.
 Sprinkler irrigation

Travelling gun

 This is a sprinkler irrigation system consisting of a single large nozzle

that rotates and is self-propelled.
 The name refers to the fact that the base is on wheels and can be
moved by the irrigator or is fixed to guide wire.

Sub-surface Irrigation

 This is the process of applying water to below the ground surface

either by raising the water table within or near the root zone or by
using buried perforated or porous pipe system that discharges directly
into the root zone.
 The main type is the drip system.

Drip Irrigation system

 This is a planned irrigation system in which water is applied directly to

the root zone of plants by means of applicators such as orifices,
emitters, porous tubing, and perforated pipes.
 Water and fertiliser are allowed to drip slowly to the root zone.
 It is operated under low pressure with the applicators being placed
either on or below the surface of the ground.
 It achieves 80% water efficiency.

Drip pipes laid under maize plants in the soil

 Point drip ensures that water is applied to the area around the plant.
 In some advanced system water is computer controlled in response to
moisture stress sensors placed around the plant.
 Drip is more suited to perennial crops like citrus fruit trees.
 In Zimbabwe, some Non Governmental Organisations have developed
and installed low cost drip system for small holder irrigation farmers.
 It suit best in uniform topographical conditions in moderate and gentle
slopes.
Comparison of the Gezira irrigation scheme in Sudan and South East
lowveld irrigation of Zimbabwe

There are similarities and differences between Gezira irrigation scheme min
South Eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe.

Map of Gezira Irrigation Scheme of Sudan

Similarities

 Environmentally, they both lie in semi-arid climate with a long dry

period of about 9 months.
 The vegetation is thorny and bush.
 Both have rich volcanic soils.
  Schemes are on vast expanse of gentle sloping fields which are easy to
install irrigation infrastructure.
 Both areas have low population densities.
 They both rely on water drawn from big dams and rivers.
 They both encompass commercial plantation and small holder farmers
as out growers.
 Good transport networks, road and railway linking them with markets.
 Industries have developed in Gezira ginneries and sugar mills in South
East lowveld.

Differences

The differences outweigh the similarities. These are;

Gezira South East Lowveld

Ownership  Ownership is varied. Some
 Gezira is owned by the belong to Agricultural and Rural
government and is run by the Development Authority (ARDA)
Gezira Management board. like Sikato, Nandi, Tshovane,
 The board leases land to Chisumbanje and Middle Sabi.
tenants who work on the land  Others belong to Transnational
and sell their products to the National Corporations (TNCs)
board. e.g. Hippo Valley belongs to
Anglo American Corporation
while Triangle belongs to Swiss
based Nestle Company.
 Out growers buys their own
plots unlike leasing in Gezira.

Water supply.  Many rivers supply water: Save

 Gezira relies on two major ,Mwenezi, Runde, Mutirikwi,
rivers: The Blue Nile and White Tokwe, Devure; and
Nile.  Dams like Bangala, Manyuchi,
 Two dams, Sennar and Jebel Tokwe-Mukosi, Tende,
Aulia, also supply water to Mutirikwi, Mujichi and
Gezira. Chikombedzi.
Irrigation methods  Use both surface irrigation and
 Mainly surface irrigation- overhead.
canals.
Crops  Several crops are grown which
 Only cotton is grown. include sugarcane, wheat,
cotton, maize, coffee, fruits.
Livestock  Commercial viable cattle
 Is for subsistence. industry.
Coverage  Made up of several areas of
 One continuous extensive cultivation like Middle Sabi,
entity of over 500 000 hacters Chisumbanje, and Triangle,
with two extensions the Hippo valley, Mukwasine and
Manaquil extension and many other smaller holdings.
Gumuiya.
Markets  Markets are far in Harare,
 They sell their products to the Gweru, Bulawayo and other
board which has collection town.
depots in the scheme.  Some products are exported.

Farming activities  More diversified with lots of

 Mainly one crop cotton. crops and animal production.

Irrigation farming in Zimbabwe

 The country has potential to irrigate about 500 00 hectares, but only
200 000 hectares have been developed.
 Only 120 000 hectares of these are being utilised after the Land
Reform Program.
 Most of the irrigation schemes are in the South East lowveld, central
watershed and northern parts of Zimbabwe.
 They are run by the Government, Transnational Corporations and
commercial and small holder farmers.

Water sources for irrigation

 Most of the water is harnessed from dams and rivers.

 Ground water makes small contribution by use of boreholes and
aquifers.
 45% dammed water is owned by the government whilst 55% by
former large scale commercial farmers and private plantation estates.
 Under the Water Act, the use of water needs a permit from Zimbabwe
National Water Authority (ZINWA).
 The State owns all surface and ground water.
 All dams with the potential to irrigate about 15 000 hectares are not
being fully utilised.

Smallholder irrigation

 Small irrigation schemes are being promoted by government and some

Non Governmental Organizations in Zimbabwe.
 There are three broad types of small holder irrigation farmers:
government managed, farmer managed and jointly managed schemes.
 Government managed schemes are developed and maintained by the
department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services
(AGRITEX).
 Farmer managed schemes are developed by the government but
owned and managed by the farmer Irrigation Management
Committees(IMCs) with minimum government intervention in terms of
management.
 In Jointly managed schemes the farmer and government share
responsibility for the operation and maintenance.
 Government is responsible for the headworks, while farmers take
responsibility of the infield infrastructure.
 Nationally 50% are farmer managed, 32% government managed and
18% jointly managed.

Small scale irrigation farmers using surface irrigation

 Small irrigation schemes include Nyanyadzi, Nyakomba, Nyamaropa,

Mutambara, Mutema, Tawona, Mpshoeng in South West of Bulawayo,
and Ngondoma in Zhombe.
 Both surface and sprinkler irrigation methods are used but surface
constitutes 68%.
 This is because it is cheap and affordable to many small holder farmers
who have limited capital.
  Surface irrigation is mostly used in drier province like Matabeleland
South and north and Masvingo.
 Sprinkler irrigation method constitutes 32% of the schemes.
 It is expensive and most small holder farmers cannot afford its
installation and maintenance.
 Average plots are 1 to 2 hectares.
 Small holder farmers struggle to manage bigger plots.
 Crops grown differ from scheme to scheme.

Study: Plantation Agriculture

 This is the large scale production of perennial crops such wheat,
sugarcane,sisal,bananas,pine apples or shrub crops like rubber,
apples, citrus, coconut.

Banana Plantation

 These are mainly for export or to supply industries with raw materials.
 In Africa, plantations are mainly found in areas that receives high
rainfall.
 It is also found in areas were water for irrigation is available like South
East low veld in Zimbabwe.

Characteristics of Plantation/Estates

 Monoculture is practiced as one crop is grown for many years, usually

tree crops.
  Owned by Transnational Corporations (TNCs) or by government
because the initial set up costs are so high.
 This cannot be met by individual farmer.
 Land is leased to TNCs by the host government and pays royalties to
government in return.
 Operations are specialised and have research centres on the estates.
 Each estate is self-contained with schools, shops, hospital, factories,
workers, houses and recreational facilities.
 Production is market oriented with the produce sold to local and
international markets.
 They have out-growers attached to them which benefit significantly
from the estates.

Benefits of estates farming

 Creates employment to thousands of people.

 Produce raw materials for industries.
 Help the country to have industrial growth by building factories,
processing and manufacturing plants.
 Produce food for the country hence ensure food security.
 Promote infrastructural developments like roads and rails in remote
areas.
 Social services like schools and hospitals are provided for the workers.
 They provide revenue to the government through taxes, royalties and
commissions.
 Contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product and Gross
National Product.
 Exports help the country to attain favourable balance of trade.
 Skills transfer through out-grower schemes.

Disadvantages of plantation farming in Africa

 They exhaust the soil of the same nutrients.

 Crops diseases can spread very fast before being noticed.
 Profits are send back to mother country and little is reinvested
 When the land is exhausted they abandon it and seek greener
pastures elsewhere.
 Occupy vast tracts of land at the expense of the landless indigenous
people.
 Top and highly paying jobs are given to foreigners in name of technical
experts; locals are given poorly paying job.
 They meddle in local politics and can lead to regime change agenda by
sabotaging the economy.
 Monopolise local markets because they are bulky producers at the
expense of small scale indigenous farmers.
Out-grower schemes/contract farming

 This is agricultural production being carried out on the basis of an

agreement between the farmer and the buyer.
 The buyer specifies the quality standards expected and the price.
 The farmer agrees to this and supplies on the agreed date.
 The growing conditions are also prescribed to the farmer.
 In return, the buyer agrees to buy the product at the agreed price.
 The farmer is supported through provision of inputs, assistance with
land preparation, provision of production advice, and transportation of
produce to the contractor premises.
 Out-grower schemes are usually prescribed in formal contracts.

Types of arrangement

 Contract farming is usually done in partnerships and lease

agreements.
 In partnerships, the out-growers are largely responsible for production
whilst the company assures or guarantees that they will purchase the
product.
 In partnerships, the company is largely responsible for paying
landholders the market prices for their allocations.
 In Land lease agreement, the landholders have little involvement in
plantation management.

Benefits of Out-growers

 Gain access to financial support.

 Receive higher net returns from commercial crops than from
traditional crops.
 They have a guaranteed market.
 Increase rural household income and hence improve the standards of
life.
 In Zimbabwe, contract/out grower farming is common with sugarcane,
tea and tobacco.
 Farmers are contracted by the buyers.
 Banks are also now contracting farmers; they give finance and
technical advice and take the products to the market.
ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF ZIMBABWE

NATURAL REGIONS

 Zimbabwe is divided into five agro-ecological regions on the basis of

the rainfall regime, soil quality and vegetation among other factors.
 These are also known as natural farming regions.
 The quality of the land resource declines from Natural Region I
through to Region V.

Natural regions of Zimbabwe

Natural Region I

 This region lies in the east of the country.

 It is characterised by rainfall of more than 1 000 mm/year (most of
which falls throughout the year), low temperatures, high altitude and
steep slopes.
 The country's timber production is located in this region.
 The plantations are owned mainly by the State through the Forestry
Commission and by multinationals.
 There are several small owner-operated plantations and sawmills.
 Region I is ideally suitable for intensive diversified agriculture and
livestock production, mainly dairy farming.
 Common crops grown include tropical crops such as coffee and tea,
deciduous fruits, such as bananas and apples, and horticultural crops,
such as potatoes, peas and other vegetables.
 Flowers, such as proteas (Proteaceae spp.), are grown for export.

Natural Region II

 This region is located in the middle of the northern part of the country.
 The rainfall ranges from 750 to 1 000 mm/year.
 It receives fairly reliable falling from November to March/April.
 The soils are generally good hence Region II is suitable for intensive
cropping and livestock production.
 It accounts for 75-80% of the area under crop production in
Zimbabwe.
 The cropping systems are based on flue-cured tobacco, maize, cotton,
wheat, soybeans, sorghum, groundnuts, seed maize and burley.
 Tobacco is grown under dry land production as well as with
supplementary irrigation in the wet months.
 Irrigated crops include wheat and barley grown in the colder and drier
months (May-September).
 It is suitable for intensive livestock production based on pastures and
pen-fattening utilizing crop residues and grain.
 The main livestock production systems include beef, dairy, pig and
poultry.
 Prior to year 2000, the region was dominated by the large-scale
farming subsector characterized by highly mechanized farms of around
1 000-2 000 ha under freehold title and were owner-operated.
 Following the agrarian and land reform programmes initiated in the
year 1999/2000, a large proportion of the farms were subdivided into
smaller units and allocated to new farmers under the A1 and A2 small-
scale farming system.
Natural Region III

 Natural Region III is located mainly in the mid-altitude areas of the

country.
 It is characterized by annual rainfall amounts of 500-750 mm, mid-
season dry spells and high temperatures.
 Production systems are based on drought-tolerant crops and semi-
intensive livestock farming based on fodder crops.
 The predominant farming system is smallholder agriculture.
 Large-scale farming accounts for 15% of the arable land production.
 Most of the land is used for extensive beef ranching.
 The main crops are maize (the staple food grain) and cotton (a major
cash crop).
 Natural Region III is suitable for the production of groundnuts and
sunflowers as cash crops.

Natural Region IV

 Natural region IV is located in the low-lying areas in the north and

south of the country.
 The characteristics of the region are: annual rainfall of 450-650 mm,
severe dry spells during the rainy season, and frequent seasonal
droughts.
 Although Natural Region IV is considered unsuitable for dryland
cropping, smallholder farmers grow drought-tolerant varieties of
maize, sorghum, pearl millet (mhunga) and finger millet (rapoko).
 Natural Region IV is ideally suitable for cattle production under
extensive production systems and for wildlife production.

Natural Region V

 It covers the lowland areas below 900m above sea level in both the
north and south of the country.
 The rainfall is less than 650 mm/year and highly erratic.
 Its uneven topography and poor soils make it unsuitable for crop
production.
 Generally, Natural Region V is suitable for extensive cattle production
and game-ranching.

NB

 Although both Natural Region IV and Natural Region V are too dry for
crop production.
 Households in the communal lands in these regions grow grain crops
such as (maize and millet) for their food security and some cash crops
such as cotton.
 Crop yields are extremely low and the risk of crop failure is high.
 Cattle and goat production are major sources of cash income.