Author: agric-t

By Almot MaqoloHARARE – The majority of Zimbabweans reside in rural areas, and agriculture and other related agricultural economic activities are the country’s main source of income. About 40% of all exports and 60% of the raw materials used in industrial processing are provided by the agriculture sector. Nevertheless, although agriculture has the largest employment rate (60 to 70 percent), it only contributes 16 to 19 percent of the GDP annually, depending on rainfall patterns and other macroeconomic factors. Previously known as the “food basket of Africa,” Zimbabwe is now a net importer of agricultural goods. Instability in the macroeconomy…

Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable, in part because they mostly rely on rain-fed agriculture instead of irrigating. In Zimbabwe, the rainy season typically lasts from November through April, after which the weather becomes too dry to support growing crops.Every year, farmers need to produce sufficient food from their single annual harvest to feed their families until the next farming season. In good years, farmers have enough grain left over to sell as income, but when crops fail, families often experience an annual "hunger season," a time of meal skipping and substitution until the next harvest.These once predictable growing…

By Almot MaqoloThe country has seen a rise in milk supply over the years, but demand has also grown, so the gap between the two is getting wider. The demand for milk is anticipated to rise even further in the next few years as a result of population expansion and an increase in per capita consumption.Milk production has been on an upward trend since the start of the year. Dairy farmers in Zimbabwe produced 43.35 million litres in the first six months of 2022, an 18% rise on last year’s corresponding period, official data shows.In H1 2021, the southern African…

An international campaign to level the playing field for female producers in agriculture is picking up steam. Women are vital to agriculture and rural businesses in emerging nations. The award-winning agronomist, Selina Sakupwanya, who is passionate about farming, is not surprised by the notion that eliminating the gender gap in agriculture would increase food production and have long-term advantages for farm families and their neighbors. Land rights may be the biggest obstacle. Only 10 to 20% of landowners in developing nations are women, and in some regions of the world, women still do not have the legal right to own…

Zimbabwe legalized medicinal marijuana in 2018Seeks to expand beyond tobacco for badly-needed export dollars But farmers face cost, regulatory hurdlesGlobal cannabis trade could be worth $272 bln by 2028 -BarclaysHARARE, May 11 (Reuters) – Zimbabwean farmers looking to cash in on a global boom in medicinal cannabis face a litany of costs and regulatory barriers, but growers like Munyaradzi Nyanungo are betting it will boost their fortunes after decades of economic decline. The southern African country became one of the first in Africa to legalize the production of medicinal cannabis in 2018, hoping for a fresh income stream of badly needed…

Within the next decade, farming as we know it is expected to be revolutionized by the use of self-driving tractors and robots that can perform time-consuming tasks now done by humans.Sales of major farm machinery have been in a continued slump amid weak prices for key crops such as corn and soybeans, but the ever-present need to control farm costs and increase output will eventually drive farmers to adopt autonomous technologies.Experts say the first wave of autonomous tech in ag will go primarily to higher-value crops, such as tree nuts, vineyards and fresh produce. Also, some suggest that the big…

Mashona cattle originated from the Shona people of eastern Zimbabwe. They are bred in a wide spreading territory covering most of the eastern half of Zimbabwe and an adjoining region of Mozambique that is free of the tsetse fly. The Mashona cattle are of the Sanga type. Following the decimation in the Shona herds caused by the cattle plague of 1896-98 and the East Coast fever epidemic of 1900-1906 larger number of mainly Angonis cows were mated with Mashona bulls. This breed is reared for meat production and it is said they make docile working animals. A herd book was…

6 Agricultural Equipment That Make Modern Farming More Productive Modern technology is continuously transforming agriculture to raise the output and quality of yields. if you’re a farmer and you still use traditional agriculture tools in this currentgeneration, you’re wasting your precious time and your good health. Farmers can now get more work done in a short duration by utilizing agricultural equipment. The process of planting, maintaining, and harvesting is now more efficient when using equipment like tractors and harvesting tools.As a farmer, timing is key. If you’re behind schedule, you could ruin your crop. But with these farming equipment and…

Following a plunge in output that hit the horticultural sector in the aftermath of agrarian reforms during the early 2000s, the industry has been slowly recovering. Of late, the government has been working with the private sector to rebuild capacities aimed at increasing production and output. Passion fruit, which is the South African name for Granadilla, is one of the horticultural products that can offer lucrative returns for local farmers. At its peak in the 1990s, the sector generated about US$140 million per annum. Marketing experts claim that passion fruit has a ready foreign market. But many local farmers are…

Farmer Jack once lived on a quiet rural highway but as time went by, the traffic slowly built up and eventually got so heavy and so fast that his free-range chickens were being run over, at a rate of three to six a week.So, Farmer Jack called the local police station to complain, “You’ve got to do something about all these people driving so fast and killing all my chickens,” he said to the local police officer. “What do you want me to do?” asked the policeman. “I don’t care, just do something about those crazy drivers!”So, the next day…