2015 Articles

Smallholder Agriculture Production in Zimbabwe: A Survey

Mutami, Cephas

The study focuses on smallholder agriculture production in Zimbabwe as a pathway for fighting rural poverty and underdevelopment. The entitlement approach was used to analyse the agriculture issues of smallholder farmers. Using questionnaires and interviews to gather household data the study employed quantitative and qualitative data analysis through spreadsheet and Atlas Ti analysis. The study revealed that smallholder agriculture in Zimbabwe is predominantly staple production, with cash cropping more prevalent to resettlement areas. Poverty remains deeply entrenched in communal areas where land tenure systems, input supply programs and farmer representations are detrimental to the sector development. Revitalising smallholder agriculture would provide pathways of nearly 7 million people in rural Zimbabwe out of poverty. Thus development would need a refocus of policy conditions in communal areas to allow smallholder agriculture growth and development.