Smallholder tobacco production and sustainable agriculture: A case of the Karoi district, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Serima, Joseph
- Date: 2015-02
- Subjects: Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe , Sustainable development -- Zimbabwe , Farms, Small
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25370 , vital:64233
- Description: Over the past decades, cash cropping had been dominant in many developing economies. In Zimbabwe, tobacco has been an important cash crop for the majority of smallholder farmers. The crop generates large profits as compared to the next best alternative cash crop and it is an important source of government revenue. Many smallholder farmers have thus resorted into tobacco farming because of accrue benefits attached to the crop. In addition to large profits, the availability of incentives which support production of this crop has also been a motive for many smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. Contrary to the availability of incentives to support tobacco production, the lack of government subsidies has discouraged smallholder farmers to engage into food crop productions. However, despite their increased interest in tobacco farming, many smallholder farmers have remained poor. They continue to live in poverty, even though they produce an important cash crop for export. Food security in the country has been deteriorated because of concentrations in cash cropping. Therefore, this study has been undertaken to investigate whether the commercialization of the peasant farmer has been responsible for the food crisis that the country is experiencing at present. The study utilized the neo-classical theory of farm production to clarify the reasons why peasant producers engage into certain types of production. However, to balance this study with an attempt of promoting sustainable agriculture, the study also employed the sustainable development approach. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2015
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- Date Issued: 2015-02
Participation of smallholder farmers in the production of high-value commodities: The case of smallholder tobacco farmers in
- Authors: Mugande, Unity
- Date: 2021-09
- Subjects: Farms, Small -- Zimbabwe , Sustainable development -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21533 , vital:48864
- Description: Participation in the production of high-value export commodities is important in increasing incomes and in enhancing smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. However, the level of their participation may be limited by several factors. Despite the limiting factors, smallholder tobacco farming has gained popularity, especially for the Zimbabwean tobacco industry. Since the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), the tobacco industry in Zimbabwe has seen an influx of smallholder farmers who have since dominated the industry producing over half of the national total tobacco output. The participation by smallholder farmers in tobacco production can be influenced by many factors, the main being income realisation. However, for farmers to realise reasonable incomes, they should be able to produce reasonable levels of good quality tobacco otherwise their farming would be in vain. It has been shown in the literature that smallholder farmers can be constrained by several factors to produce high levels of produce and these factors may include one or more of the following; lack of capital, lack of productive assets, lack of tobacco production skills, lack of financial resources to finance productive activities properly, lack of access to land to expand production among others. Given this background, this study sought to assess the participation of smallholder farmers in tobacco production in terms of quantities and qualities produced given the differences in their productive capacities. The study utilised both primary and secondary data for analysis. Primary data were collected from individual farmers and contract firms’ representatives. The unit of analysis was the smallholder farmer. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires and a semi-structured interview guide for the contract representatives. Secondary data for the 2018 season were obtained from TIMB. Descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The descriptive statistics results showed that; the majority of the tobacco farmers had low levels of education and they relied mainly on farm incomes for survival. Concerning farm assets, the results showed that; on average, farmers own at least one of the following traditional assets; plough, scotch cart, cattle, storage facility, tobacco curing barn, (athough among the farmers some had indicated that they do not own curing facilities but used hired facilities to cure tobacco). Modern assets like tractors, ox-drawn ridgers and truck motor vehicles were owned by only a few farmers. The results further showed that contracted farmers were more productive and produced better quality tobacco than independent tobacco producers. The binary regression results showed that Ox-drawn ridgers, ploughs, having had a contract before, pricing, distance to the market, age of the farmer, type of curing facility, number of extension visits, number of bales produced and access to credit were significant factors influencing farmers’ participation in contract farming. However, four of the tested factors; tractors, cattle, number of hectares utilised for tobacco farming and number of years in tobacco farming were insignificant in influencing participation in contract farming. The results from the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the number of hectares utilised, the number of bales produced, market preferred, household size, tobacco production training, tractors, and type of curing facility were significant factors influencing the quality of tobacco produce. The other four variables that were tested; farmer category, type of energy used, being a member of a peer group and the number of years in tobacco farming; had no significant effect on the quality of tobacco produced by smallholder farmers. The study recommended that farmers should try and invest in commercial assets such as tractors, modern curing facilities, irrigation systems and other modern equipment that have potential to highly boost production rather than traditional assets like ox-drawn ploughs. The study also recommended that farmers should aim at maximising quantity per hectare of tobacco planted rather than planting larger crop areas they are unable to finance properly. Finally, it is recommended that farmers should get training on tobacco grading to avoid product quality loses that come with improper grading. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-09
De-industrialisation and the economic crisis in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Dlamini, Trinity Nkosilathi
- Date: 2014-12
- Subjects: Community life , Land reform -- Zimbabwe , Sustainable development -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Master's thesis , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25915 , vital:64563
- Description: Zimbabwe has faced massive de-industrialization in the past decade. Decline in manufacturing production has immensely contributed to the economic crisis that hit the country since 1997. Most scholars have regarded the land reform program as the main contributor to the economic crisis but this study reveals how industrial decline led to the same crisis. Sustainable economic growth should be consistent with high levels of employment. This can be achieved through a strong role by a developmental state with autonomy over industrial development and guiding the process of capital accumulation. During the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) period, there were high levels of economic growth with the manufacturing sector emerging as the leading sector in the country`s economy. However, this growth failed to translate into economic development. The UDI regime had favoured capital-intensive production, controls on trade, foreign currency and the exchange rate system. With the attainment of independence, the post-independence government had to alter policies so as to expand productivity and create employment opportunities for the previously marginalized black people. This study notes that the state failed to invest accumulated capital and diversify production in the years it had achieved strong economic growth. The state did not address the issue of transformation of colonial production processes through policy. It failed to promote labour-intensive production and there was inadequate investment in expanding the manufacturing sector. The Zimbabwean economy has the potential to generate significant investible capital but it is never reinvested locally in a more balanced and integrated pattern of development. Even with the liberalization of the economy in 1991 through the Economic Structural Adjustment Program (ESAP), the country never achieved the targeted economic growth. Focus further shifted towards investing on capital-intensive production in the agricultural sector at the expense of labour-intensive industries. Therefore, the decline in manufacturing production in the early 1990s led to the economic crisis in Zimbabwe. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce , 2014
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- Date Issued: 2014-12