Potential for Precision Agriculture on the Communal Farms in Zimbabwe

1. Potential for Precision Agriculture on the Communal Farms in Zimbabwe

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

18. Appropriate Technology • FAO book of Farm Implements for Arid and Tropical Regions states that technology for developing areas should be: • 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."

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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 Leucaenaleucocephala • 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

24. Leucaena leucocephala

25. 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

27. 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

28. 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