Potential for Precision Agriculture on the Communal Farms in

Zimbabwe

Dual Agrarian Structure in Zimbabwe

• Up until 2000, Agriculture in Zimbabwe was characterized by two types of agriculture– Commercial Farming Areas

• Large Scale Commercial Farming Areas (LSCFAs)• Small Scale Commercial Farming Areas (SSCFAs)

– Communal Farming Areas• Subsistence Farmers• Subsistence Farms produce only enough to support the farm

– Little is left for market

• Dual system is from legacy of colonization– Need to understand a little of the history of Zimbabwe

in order to understand the dual agrarian structure

Brief History of Agriculture in Zimbabwe (I)

• Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) was established as an agriculture colony of the United Kingdom

• Late 1800s - 1913– British South African Company• Acquired the most fertile agriculture lands• Pushed the native Shona and Ndbele peoples off• Local people required to work the lands• Established a “hut tax”, a labor levy on the Shona and

Ndebele people

Brief History of Agriculture in Zimbabwe (II)

• British settlers went to the country in greater and greater numbers and established commercial farms– Bulk of lands in fertile areas converted to commercial farms– By 1925, only 14 of the farms in the BSAC areas were owned by black

farmers (total land area only 19,000 ha)

Brief History of Agriculture in Zimbabwe (III)

• 1925 Legislation– black farmers prohibited from buying land in BSAC

areas– 19.7 million hectares of fertile lands set aside for

white farmers– Only 2.8 million hectares of mostly marginal lands

set aside for black farmers– 11.7 million hectares set aside as a reserve

Brief History of Agriculture in Zimbabwe (IV)

• Marginalization of Black farmers created a Dual Agrarian System

• Dual Agriculture Extension system established– Market and Agriculture Development priorities designed

to reduce competition for LSCFAs– Department of Agriculture Development (DEVAG) for

farmers in communal areas (1926)• Used to prevent farmers from growing local corn varieties

– Department of Conservation and Extension (CONEX) for farmers in commercial areas (1950s)

– DEVAG typically underfunded– Emphasis on agriculture and market development for

farmers in LSCFAs

Brief History of Agriculture in Zimbabwe (V)

• Independence (1980)– Zimbabwe achieved its independence after a short civil war– President Robert Mugabe encouraged reconciliation to keep the

economy strong• 1980 $1 ZIM = $1 US• White Zimbabweans encouraged to stay

– Commercial farms continued to generate needed FOREX– Land resettlement schemes established to address legacy of

colonization– Improved Extension Agency established for farmers in

communal areas (AGRITEX)– Dual Subsistence Farm and Commercial Farm Agrarian system

has persisted

Dual Technology (I)• LSCFAs are Modern industrialized farms– Large farms in fertile areas– Modern hybrids developed locally by the Commercial

Farmers Union• Short season varieties capable of maturing before the end of the

rainy season R201, R210– Modern Equipment– Inorganic Fertilizer– Advanced Irrigation systems– Other inputs such as herbicides and pesticides– Combination of mechanized and hand labor– Monocultures of cash crops including corn, coffee and tea

Dual Technology (II)

• Communal Farming Areas– Small farms on marginal lands

• typically only a few hectares– Subsistence farms

• Farmers produce only enough food for their families each year• Sometimes small surpluses can be sold

– May not be able to buy inorganic fertilizer or hybrid seeds each year• Saved seed• Insufficient levels of fertilizer applied

– No mechanization, labor is either all by hand (most common) or involves the use of draught animals

Dual Technology (III)• Communal Farming Areas cont…– Mixed cropping and intercropping– Gardens and fruit trees

• Small Scale Commercial Farming Areas– Small Farms in fertile areas– Consist largely of farms set up by the government as a part

of land redistribution schemes to address inequities in land distribution from colonial past

– Combination of modern industrial technologies and work by hand an draught animals• Access to inputs such hybrid seed and inorganic fertilizers

generally higher than on communal farming areas but still lower than on the LSCFAs

AGRITEX

• After independence, agriculture colleges were established

• Extension agents with technical degrees distributed throughout the country

• Extension agents live in the communities they work in for most of the year and educate local farmers on use of modern technologies including– Inorganic fertilizer– Short season corn cultivars– Irrigation

Appropriate Technology

• Precision Agriculture it the Communal Areas of Zimbabwe should be based on Appropriate Technology

• Should not attempt to use the modern equipment used in LSCFAs

• Modern technology can not always be applied in developing nations for many reasons including:– Cost– Inability of farmers to obtain credit to purchase and maintain

equipment• Communal farmers do not own their own land in Zimbabwe

– Lack of access to spare parts– Transportation problems– Cultural limitations– Limitations of terrain

Appropriate Technology• FAO book of Farm Implements for Arid and Tropical Regions states that

technology for developing areas should be:

a) Adapted to allow efficient and speedy work with the minimum of fatigue;

b) not injurious to man or animal;

c) of simple design, so that they can be made locally;

d) light in weight, for easy transportation;

e) ready for immediate use without loss of time for preparatory adjustments;

f) made of easily available materials."

Precision Agriculture in Communal Areas

• Small “Greenseeker” sensor for use in developing countries currently being developed at OSU– Projected cost is about $100 each

• Agritex agents already in Zimbabwe could be trained to use this technology

• Simple weather monitoring instruments could be used at Agritex stations to collect GD data since Zimbabwe does not have a MESONET system– Would provide current year temperature data for

calculating N application rates

Precision Agriculture in Communal Areas

• Agritex could work with 2 or 3 local “master farmers” – Establish “fertile strips” at master farmers fields, to

read NDVI data• Agritex could organize field days for farmers to

learn about how much nitrogen to apply for the current year’s crop

• Agritex could provide training sessions on proper use of and application rates of inorganic N fertilizers

Precision Agriculture in Communal Areas

• Where possible manure and green manure alternatives should be sought – Farmers are not able to buy sufficient quantities

inorganic fertilizer every year– Farmers should receive training on manure and

application for those years in which they are not able to obtain enough inorganic fertilizer

– Green manure manufacture, though labor intensive, can provide an alternative source of nitrogen fertilizer

Green Manure• Fertilizer made by making infusions of cut N-rich materials

in water or by incorporating materials directly into the soil or in compost

• A “time release fertilizer”– Nitrogen in amino acids gradually becomes available as

microbes in the soil break it down• A good candidate for green manure in Zimbabwe is

Leucaena leucocephala – Native to Central America– Mayans and Zapotecs used it over 2,000 years ago– More recently, farmers in the Phillipines have used it

• Also helpful in erosion control on steep hillsides or for use as a cattle feed suppliment and as firewood

Leucaena leucocephala

Green Manure

• Community tree nurseries for Leucaena leucocephala and other locally-valued trees should be established– In Mahsonga-Sahmutsa locally valued trees

include fruit trees and Eucalyptus spp. trees

• Community nurseries have worked in the past– Vetiver grass nurseries for use in terracing and

erosion control

Summary• Commercial Farms produce large quantities of crops

for market whereas Subsistence Farms produce only enough for the farmers to consume each year

• Technologies for commercial and subsistence farms are often different because technologies used on commercial farms are not always practical on communal farms

• Universities and research institutions should develop technologies for subsistence and commercial agriculture simultaneously

• Since Zimbabwe has both types of agriculture it can be a good place to develop technology for both systems

References• Billing K.J. (1985) Zimbabwe and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of

Their collaboration in Agricultural Research, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Washington DC

• Mataruka, D.F. (1985) Review of the constraints to maize production in the communal areas of Nat Region III, IV, and V, Zimbabwe Agric. J. 82:171-175

• Von Blanckenburg, Peter (1994) Large Commercial Farmers and Land Reform in Africa, Averbury, Aldershot, England

• Wiese, Karen (1988) Case Studies: Factors Influencing Agricultural Production of Small Farmers in Zimbabwe and Malawi In: Enhancing Agriculture in Africa: A Role for U.S.

Development Assistance• Whingwiri, E.E. and Harahwa, G. (1985) Maize varieties for the low-

yielding environments in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Agric. J. 82: 29- 30