Transport and farm machinery study for Makoni District Union of Collective Co-operatives

This study was commissioned by ZIDS, in its capacity as the main consultant to the Makoni District Collective Co-operative Union Limited as part of a Master Study ZIDS is carrying out for the MDCCU. The aims and objectives of the study are embodied in the terms of reference below. The Terms of Reference for the Transport and Farm Machinery Feasibility Study The terms of reference as given to us by ZIDS were as follows: • A brief historical development of the existing transport and farm machinery pool. • Analysis of the economic and other activities of the existing pool focusing particularly on capacity utilisation and service charges as well as the effectiveness and adequacy of such services. • Determine the key constraints facing the existing operations. • Identify other services that demancj opportunities/potentials. • Determine the appropriate levels of both short-term and long-term requirements indicating approximate truck, trailer, tractor and implements capacities (sizes). • Determine the. supportive infrastructural requirements e.g. workshop and fuel station. • Address any other relevant issues/recommendations and factors that may arise in the course of this exercise. The study will be expected to make recommendations about the findings and operational strategies for the MDU. Such recommendations should be concrete on which aspects require assistance and the nature of such assistance.,Stichting-Hivos of Hollan

The root causes of hunger in Zimbabwe: an overview of the nature, causes and effects of hunger, and strategies to combat hunger

In the midst of so-called African food and hunger "crisis", Zimbabwe has been widely acclaimed to be a unique "success" story in comparison to other African countries because of increasing aggregate output of agricultural products, especially food products which are locally consumed. The fact that Zimbabwe has been able to export grains and meat (besides the traditional cash crops of tobacco, cotton, tea, et) during normal years and was able to maintain a measure of food self-sufficiency on the aggregate during the three years of drought have reinforced this placard of success. It is in fact this performance which has earned the country the name "bread-basket" and the role of food security coordination within the SADCC region. Of equal importance in the "success" story is the role that peasants have played in aggregate output of agricultural products. It is frequently pointed out that peasants have increased their aggregate production especially in maize and cotton (as well as sorghum and sunflower seed, etc.) from well below ln% of the marketed output prior to independence to well over 40% in maize and cotton in 1985. It is thus generally assumed that given peasant rationality these increases in marketed output also reflect sufficient food crop retentions which have ensured self-sufficiency in food among the rural peoples, in contrast to the situation in the rest of Africa. In fact there has been a tendency to exclude the Zimbabwean peasantry from debates on hunger and related problems in the African context. Some donor agencies have even suggested that Zimbabwe does not need much foreign aid in respect of the food problem. The "success" has consequently been attributed to correct agricultural policies (in pricing, marketing and research) and a "model" rural development strategy which was adopted since independence. In fact the CDAA study focus which was recommended for the Zimbabwean team emphasized the need to extract "lessons" from Zimbabwe's "Model", with particular interest in the role of women's cooperation groups in the struggle against hunger. It should however be strongly pointed out that this so-called "success" is based on aggregate performance which on closer scrutiny does not reflect the true situation and that the actual hunger and related health status of the peasantry when closely inspected does not match up to the colourful impressions created especially by the international media. Thirdly the actual explanations of the causes for the increased aggregate outputs have not yet been fully investigated and require further exposition for any real lessons to be derived. Finally, it is questionable whether Zimbabwe does indeed have an integrated model of rural development and if it does its impact has not been fully assessed. These issues need to be investigated in relation to the hunger problem

The evolution of Zimbabwe’s land acquisition

A research paper on Zimbabwe's land redistribution policy.The land reform programme in Zimbabwe has raised a number of critical political economy questions. The massive transfer of land within a short period of time and without international financial support calls for a rethinking of our understanding of the process of land reform in Africa (Berry, 1993; Platteau, 1996; Moyo, 2000). Across the African continent, competition over land intensified in the late twentieth century, leading to rising land values, increasingly commercialized patterns of land acquisition, concentration of landholdings, prolonged litigation, and sometimes to assault and even murder. Evidence of growing land pressure and increasing conflict has prompted some observers to argue that land reform, once considered a low priority on a continent with plenty of land to go around, is now a matter of urgency. Rather than debate the case for or against land reform per se, this chapter explores the trends in land acquisition in Zimbabwe in the context of broader debates over economic and political transformations. The purpose of this chapter is to walk the reader through the land acquisition process throughout the 25 years of Zimbabwe’s independence. The chapter focuses on land acquisition which has been an area of contest throughout the independence period. The chapter should be read concurrently with chapters by Matondi and Munyuki-Hungwe (chapter 3) and Makadho (chapter 7) to get a clear picture of the linkages of land acquisition, redistribution and national land policy

Agricultural employment expansion: smallholder land and labour capacity growth

This report is based on a synthesis of findings from various publications, ZEDS surveys and numerous Government publications. It is supported by a wide spreading background study report on Zimbabwe's prospects for employment and agricultural development produced with two other colleagues from ZIDS. In four preliminary sections the report first traces the role and contributions of agriculture in the economy and in employment, and then it assesses the performances of the agricultural sub-sector, focusing on large-scale commercial farming (LSCF) and Communal Area farming in order to highlight the differences in employment and growth impacts of these two dominant sub-sectors. In the two following sections the resources and policy framework of sub-sectoral performance are discussed and identifiable investment policy impacts synthesized, with particular attention given to the employment effects of the post-independence agricultural developments. These analyses lead to the conclusion that reasonable growth and some small measure of equity were achieved during the period studied, while declining formal employment, increased underemployment and precarious Communal farm employment were achieved in a situation of growing officially "descaled" unemployment

Zimbabwe's agrarian reform process: lessons or domino strategies?

It is becoming increasingly fashionable to proffer all kind of lessons for a post-apartheid South Africa, not the least since the independence of Namibia in 1990 and as the geo-political colour of Southern Africa shifts under the new wave of peace initiatives throughout its formerly radical territories. Due to the crucial role played by the agrarian question in Zimbabwe's liberation struggle and the apparent "agricultural success" and related political calm that has marked the first 10 years of transition, as well as due to the existence of certain agrarian structural and socio-political "similarities" between Zimbabwe and South Africa, the former's experience has received post-apartheid prognostic attention. The usefulness of such comparative analysis depends, however, on the degree to which the Zimbabwean case is adequately portrayed and on an appropriate appreciation of the context before 1980 and during the last decade

Land tenure issues in Zimbabwe during the 1990's

A research paper on problems besotting land tenure in Zimbabwe in the 1990's.This chapter traces the evolution of land tenure and the existing patterns of land distribution. It attempts to identify the major tenurial problems found in the five agricultural sub-sectors; the LSCF, Communal Areas, State Lands (Forestry, Parks and ARDA), the Small-Scale Commercial Farm Areas and in Resettlement Areas. Following this, the paper briefly reviews government policies related to land tenure and attempts to propose alternatives to Zimbabwe’s present land tenure malaise. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the macro-level context within which proposals, for resolving the tenurial insecurity of the Forest Commission, should be made. Specifically the land trusteeship role of the state, has led on the one hand, to tenurial dualism and insecurity amongst various social groups, and indecision on the part of the state with regard to the future pattern and processes of land tenure envisaged for the country. On the other hand, this situation leads itself to a wide range of problems, which suggest urgent need for land tenure policy reform. These discussions are intended to a clarify the optimal tenurial conditions suitable for state enterprises, such as the Forestry Commission

Socio-Economic Dominance of Ethnic and Racial Groups: The African experience

human development, culture

An Assessment of Human Resources for the Development of Electric Power, Household Energy and Energy Planning in Zimbabwe.

A ZIDS Consultancy Report on assessing manpower and training needs in Zimbabwe.This report is the result of a study undertaken to assess manpower needs and training priorities for the development of the electric power and household energy sectors and for energy planning in Zimbabwe. The study, which was carried out in about two and a half months, was done in three parts, namely: Electric Power Study, Household Energy Study and Energy Planning Capability Study. In brief, the study had to: describe the organization of the sub-sectors concerned; assess the manpower inventory of the sectors; and describe their manpower training programmes and make projections of their future manpower requirements. The report is presented in four chapters beginning with a discussion of the study approach, methods and problems encountered. Chapter Two deals with the Electric Power Sector, Chapter Three with the Household Energy Sector and the final chapter discusses Energy Planning in Zimbabwe.International Labor Organization (ILO.