ANALYSIS OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT POST FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAMME. A CASE STUDY OF GOROMONZI DISTRICT, MASHONALAND EAST PROVINCE, ZIMBABWE

Irrigation development is a gateway to increased agricultural, water and land productivity, increased household and national food security. However, irrigation development has been a major challenge in many developing countries, including Zimbabwe. The launch of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in 2003 ushered in new unskilled cadres and this was followed by a reduction in area developed for irrigation from 200,000ha to approximately 120,000ha. This was due to thefts, dilapidation, and vandalism of irrigation infrastructure. The government made efforts to develop and bring back the 200,000ha into operational, but little has been achieved. To assess irrigation development post FTLRP, a case study was done in Goromonzi District. Using a Trend Analysis to assess the trend in irrigation funding, a downward trend was revealed. A Gross Margin Analysis, modeled via the Business Coefficient Expansion Factor (BCEF) to evaluate productivity and profitability of the irrigation enterprises showed that farmers performed below average and major irrigation crops were below the ideal BCEF threshold of 2.5, suggesting non-profitability of irrigation enterprises. An analysis on infrastructure revealed that most of it was partially or non-functional, hence farmers reduced area under irrigation. The study also revealed non-accessibility of training services by farmers. The study concluded that inadequate irrigation funding, low irrigation productivity, nonprofitability of irrigation enterprises, poor cost recovery mechanisms and lack of relevant training has led to low irrigation development. The study recommends that national governments should formulate and hold sound irrigation development strategies and encouraged to partner with public and private institutions in defining and implementing such comprehensive strategies for sustainable irrigation development.Irrigation, irrigation development, funding, productivity, cost recovery, viable, FTLRP, Crop Production/Industries,

Peer Toy Play as a Gateway to Children’s Gender Flexibility: The Effect of (Counter)Stereotypic Portrayals of Peers in Children’s Magazines

Extensive evidence has documented the gender stereotypic content of children’s media, and media is recognized as an important socializing agent for young children. Yet, the precise impact of children’s media on the endorsement of gender-typed attitudes and behaviors has received less scholarly attention. We investigated the impact of stereotypic and counter-stereotypic peers pictured in children’s magazines on children’s gender flexibility around toy play and preferences, playmate choice, and social exclusion behavior (n = 82, age 4–7 years-old). British children were randomly assigned to view a picture of a peer-age boy and girl in a magazine playing with either a gender stereotypic or counter-stereotypic toy. In the stereotypic condition, the pictured girl was shown with a toy pony and the pictured boy was shown with a toy car; these toys were reversed in the counter-stereotypic condition. Results revealed significantly greater gender flexibility around toy play and playmate choices among children in the counterstereotypic condition compared to the stereotypic condition, and boys in the stereotypic condition were more accepting of gender-based exclusion than were girls. However, there was no difference in children’s own toy preferences between the stereotypic and counter-stereotypic condition, with children preferring more gender-typed toys overall. Implications of the findings for media, education, and parenting practices are discussed, and the potential for counterstereotypic media portrayals of toy play to shape the gender socialization of young children is explored

ANALYSIS OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT POST FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAMME. A CASE STUDY OF GOROMONZI DISTRICT, MASHONALAND EAST PROVINCE, ZIMBABWE

Irrigation development is a gateway to increased agricultural, water and land productivity, increased household and national food security. However, irrigation development has been a major challenge in many developing countries, including Zimbabwe. The launch of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in 2003 ushered in new unskilled cadres and this was followed by a reduction in area developed for irrigation from 200,000ha to approximately 120,000ha. This was due to thefts, dilapidation, and vandalism of irrigation infrastructure. The government made efforts to develop and bring back the 200,000ha into operational, but little has been achieved. To assess irrigation development post FTLRP, a case study was done in Goromonzi District. Using a Trend Analysis to assess the trend in irrigation funding, a downward trend was revealed. A Gross Margin Analysis, modeled via the Business Coefficient Expansion Factor (BCEF) to evaluate productivity and profitability of the irrigation enterprises showed that farmers performed below average and major irrigation crops were below the ideal BCEF threshold of 2.5, suggesting non-profitability of irrigation enterprises. An analysis on infrastructure revealed that most of it was partially or non-functional, hence farmers reduced area under irrigation. The study also revealed non-accessibility of training services by farmers. The study concluded that inadequate irrigation funding, low irrigation productivity, nonprofitability of irrigation enterprises, poor cost recovery mechanisms and lack of relevant training has led to low irrigation development. The study recommends that national governments should formulate and hold sound irrigation development strategies and encouraged to partner with public and private institutions in defining and implementing such comprehensive strategies for sustainable irrigation development

Agricultural supply response for sunflower in South Africa (1947-2016): The partial Nerlovian framework approach

Paper removed at authors' request December 2019

Agricultural supply response for sunflower in South Africa (1947-2016): The partial Nerlovian framework approach

Paper removed at authors' request December 2019

Price seasonality of citrus commodities in the Joburg Fresh Produce Market

The objective of the paper was to study seasonality in citrus prices, for informing food security policy. Secondary data was collected from the Joburg Fresh Produce Market. Analysis of the data followed two steps. First was the construction of price indexes and second, statistical significance using the ARIMA model. Grapefruit, oranges, lemon and soft citrus were considered for analyses. Results show that the highest price index for grapefruit at 189% was recorded in February against a low of 51% in July. Orange came second, with a high of 157% in February and a low of 60% in June; Soft Citrus a high of 153% in December and a low of 66% in April whereas lemon had high of 120% in January and low of 80% in June. The average high price index for the four species was 156%. On average, the difference between high and low price index among the four species was 92%. For the Lemon, the aforesaid figure was 45%. ARIMA seasonal terms are statistical significant at 1%, 5% and 10%. The length of period for high price index and the rate of price index renders citrus seasonality high. Government to invest in agro processing and storage infrastructure. Key words: Seasonality, price index, citrus species, nutrition, food securit

Price seasonality of citrus commodities in the Joburg Fresh Produce Market

The objective of the paper was to study seasonality in citrus prices, for informing food security policy. Secondary data was collected from the Joburg Fresh Produce Market. Analysis of the data followed two steps. First was the construction of price indexes and second, statistical significance using the ARIMA model. Grapefruit, oranges, lemon and soft citrus were considered for analyses. Results show that the highest price index for grapefruit at 189% was recorded in February against a low of 51% in July. Orange came second, with a high of 157% in February and a low of 60% in June; Soft Citrus a high of 153% in December and a low of 66% in April whereas lemon had high of 120% in January and low of 80% in June. The average high price index for the four species was 156%. On average, the difference between high and low price index among the four species was 92%. For the Lemon, the aforesaid figure was 45%. ARIMA seasonal terms are statistical significant at 1%, 5% and 10%. The length of period for high price index and the rate of price index renders citrus seasonality high. Government to invest in agro processing and storage infrastructure. Key words: Seasonality, price index, citrus species, nutrition, food securit