The paper describes three participatory approaches geared towards rural development of innovations and agricultural extension and research presently developed and tested in pilot activities in Masvingo Province. All these approaches require new roles from the main development agents. With regard to agricultural extension workers, the role "teacher" must be replaced by the role facilitator for technical issues and social processes. This role change requires a major change in attitudes and a higher social competence than the technocratic extension workers have at present. The role change must be accompanied by the provision of tools and methodologies to the extension workers. Out of three methodologies (diagnostic survey, PRA and Training for Transformation) of which the potential contributions to a role change are discussed, Training for Transformation is suggested as a major tool for initiating the role change as it provides the required philosophic framework as well as practical methods and tools to encourage farmer participation. A review of experiences and constraints in the implementation of participatory approaches and the role changes revealed the transition period as a critical point. During that process intensive support has to be provided and an effective staff appraisal and monitoring system have to be in place to guide the extension workers. Steps to introduce participatory approaches into the extension system are proposed through a training programme for different levels of staff suggested on the basis of experiences gained so far. It is concluded that a consistent curriculum and a close follow-up is required to integrate participatory extension approaches successfully into the agricultural extension service.

The chapter examines whether contract farming confers benefits primarily to large farmers in practice and how we may be able to make smallholders significantly better off by introducing new profitable crops and livestock products. More often than not, agriculture does not provide ample employment opportunities, largely due to land constraints on production expansion. One solution is to develop nonfarm sectors so as to provide more lucrative employment opportunities, in which working members of farm households increasingly find jobs. The chapter demonstrates the critical importance of increasing nonfarm income to improve the income of rural households and examines the roles of infrastructure and human capital in raising nonfarm income.

peer reviewed

In 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development started implementing A4NH-informed nutrition-sensitive agriculture approaches in 11 provinces as part of their Zero Hunger initiative.

The Conservatiuon Tillage for Sustainable Crop Production Systems has been testing and developing conservation tillage systems in the semi-arid areas of Masvingo Province since 1988. A dual approach of on-station research and adaptive on-farm research has been taken. Out of five tillage techniques, only mulch ripping can be considered ecologically sustainable. No-till tied ridging follows closely due to its perfect soil and water conservation effect. Two other minimum tillage systems, hand-hoeing and clean ripping are to reduce soil loss as compared to conventional mouldboard ploughing, but their level of soil loss is still above tolerable levels. Perfomance of the different tillage techniques has proved to be highly variable depending on soil, site and farmer specific conditions. To address the problem of high variability of conditions it was concluded that different techniques and systems should be promoted as options rather than blanket recommendations and that farmers should be encouraged to select, test and experiment with options in order to adapt technologies to their specific needs and conditions. The paper concludes that conservation tillage alone without further aspects of crop husbandry and soil fertility can only result in minor yield increases and does not necessarily increase the sustainability of the crop production system. Extension and further research should focus on integrated approach for land husbandry.

The paper outlines the occurence and distribution of vleis in Zimbabwe. Historical and Current utilization practices of these vleis are briefly described. Potentially safe and productive systems of cultivating vleis were investigated. These included three tillage practices (ridge and furrow, flat and paddy) and three cropping patterns (monocropping, intercropping and sequential cropping). Results of crop performance are discussed for the period 1983 to 1994. During the years when both maize and rice were harvested (1984/85, 1985/86, 1987/88, 1989/90, 1992/93 and 1993/94) maize grain yield averaged 6219 kg/ha whilst that of the rice was 2129 kkg/ha. Maize yielded grain every season even those with below average rainfall. In 1991/92 seasons when Zimbabwe and indeed the sub-Saharan region experienced the worst drought in history, vlei maize on ridges averaged grain yield of 1139 g/ha. Soil fertility, ground water levels and precipitation were monitored throughout the experimental period. Implications of vlei cultivation on the socio-economic aspects were assessed in view of possible transfer. Future research and extension objectives and strategies are highlighted. The need for coordinated and multi-displinary approach on the development of vlei utilization packkages is emphasized