Agriculture in Zimbabwe

Venda farmers in the South of Zimbabwe.

Agriculture in Zimbabwe is overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture. Agriculture accounts for 18% of Zimbabwe's GDP as of 2015.[1]

Products

In addition to food production, principal products include tobacco, cotton and wool.[2]

Zimbabwe's arable land surface is relatively small compared to major food producers in Africa, but its agriculture was rather well performing from 1961 to 2001 (up to 10% of African maize production in 1985). There are five natural regions that make up the agriculture of Zimbabwe. The first three regions are used for producing crops.[3] Most maize and staple food was produced by small scale communal farms, while larger commercial farms focused on cash crops like tobacco, paprika, fruits, flowers and beef exports, providing much needed foreign currencies for imports.

Tobacco

Zimbabwe's tobacco sector is the largest grower of tobacco in Africa, and the 6th largest in the world. Tobacco is Zimbabwe's leading agricultural export and one of its main sources of foreign exchange. 54% of Zimbabwe's tobacco exports were sold to China in 2015.[4] Since land reform began in 2000, most of the white-owned commercial tobacco farms have been seized by the government and redistributed to small-scale black farmers. Production of tobacco was disrupted, and the harvest fell by 79% between 2000 and 2008. However, the industry recovered after the contract system was introduced in 2008.[5] In 2014, Zimbabwe produced 217 million kg of tobacco, the third largest crop on record.[6][7]

Potatoes

Vocational education

Agricultural colleges in Zimbabwe include Chibero Agricultural College, Esigodini Agricultural College, Gwebi Agricultural College, Kushinga Phikelela National Farmer Training Centre, Mazowe Veterinary College, Mlezu Agricultural College, and Rio Tino Agricultural College.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dzirutwe, MacDonald (16 April 2015). "Zimbabwe takes tobacco road to agriculture recovery". Reuters.
  2. ↑ CIA World Factbook, Zimbabwe
  3. ↑ "Agriculture in Zimbabwe". Ministry of Lands, Agriculture & Rural Resettlement. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  4. ↑ "China gets lion's share of tobacco exports". NewsDay Zimbabwe. 4 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Marawanyika, Godfrey (4 November 2013). "Mugabe Makes Zimbabwe's Tobacco Farmers Land Grab Winners". Bloomberg.
  6. ↑ Machingura, Gretinah (July 10, 2016). "Partnering Chinese, Zimbabwe tobacco farmers embark on road to success". Xinhua.
  7. ↑ "Tobacco in Zimbabwe". Issues in the Global Tobacco Economy. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2003.
  8. ↑ Ministry of Agriculture, front page
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