Question

main characteristics of market gardening in zimbabwe

Answer 1

Answer

Gardening has continuously been a part of farming apply in Zimbabwe’s rural areas. sometimes atiny low watercourse bank plot, or a locality close to the house, has been planted with vegetables for home consumption.

Few farmers within the communal areas proportion to additional industrial operations, as agriculture needs inputs notably water and selling at scale is usually a challenge given the perishability of most vegetables. but in recent years within the new resettlements there has been a growth of small-scale industrial agriculture.

This has arisen thanks to changes within the prices of irrigation technology, the supply of water, and therefore the opportunities that dynamic markets post-land reform supply.

In the dryland settings of Masvingo, irrigation – significantly for husbandry crops – is crucial. however state-led irrigation investment in African nation has been restricted in recent years, despite the universally recognised priority. Instead, individuals have taken things into their own hands and are creating use of low value irrigation technology to line up irrigation systems in their farms and gardens.

The growth of small-scale irrigation has been substantial, and with this a spread of latest husbandry production businesses.

In 2014 we tend to undertook a survey of such industrial agriculture enterprises across our sites in Masvingo province.

we tend to known fifteen such enterprises of varied scales. in contrast to the little ‘womens’ gardens’ that dominated vegetable production before, these were for the most part surpass men, though continuously with robust involvement of their wives and alternative members of the family.

There was typically a gendered differentiation in roles, with ladies typically engaged in process of vegetables, together with drying, whereas men oversaw the transport and sales of vegetables to city. There was a cluster of such enterprises discovered within the Wondedzo space, creating use of the supply of water within the Muturikwi watercourse and therefore the proximity to Masvingo city for selling.