Agriculture plays a crucial role in the lives of Zimbabweans in rural and urban areas. Most of the people in rural areas survive on agriculture and they need support for them to get good yields. Agriculture in Zimbabwe is overseen by the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

. Agriculture accounts for 18% of Zimbabwe's GDP as of 2015. Agriculture enabled people to produce surplus food. There are different crops that farmers grow and some of these include, maize, sorghum, rapoko, groundnuts, round-nuts and beans.

Production

Zimbabwe produced, in 2018: * 3,3 million tons of

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

; * 730 thousand tons of

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

; * 256 thousand tons of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

; * 191 thousand tons of

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

; * 132 thousand tons of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

(6th largest producer in the world); * 106 thousand tons of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

; * 96 thousand tons of

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

; * 90 thousand tons of

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

; * 80 thousand tons of

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

; * 60 thousand tons of

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

; * 55 thousand tons of

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

; * 42 thousand tons of

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

; * 38 thousand tons of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

; In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.

Products

In addition to

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

, principal products include

and

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

. Zimbabwe's arable land surface is relatively small compared to major food producers in Africa, but its agriculture was rather well performing from 1961 to 2001 (up to 10% of African maize production in 1985). There are five natural regions that make up the agriculture of Zimbabwe. The first three regions are used for producing crops. Most maize and staple food was produced by small scale communal farms, while larger commercial farms focused on cash crops like tobacco, paprika, fruits, flowers and beef exports, providing much needed foreign currencies for imports. Zimbabweans face different challenges in their agricultural activities and these challenges include; lack of resources to buy inputs and equipment, poor rains in some areas, poor roads networks to transport their produce and lack of participation in policies to support their activities. Government entities must support these agricultural activities by providing seeds, fertilizes and finance to buy other implements. They can also provide agricultural equipment that they can hire for a subsidized cost.

Tobacco

Zimbabwe's tobacco sector is the largest grower of tobacco in Africa, and the 6th largest in the world. Tobacco is Zimbabwe's leading agricultural export and one of its main sources of foreign exchange. Tobacco farming accounted for 11% of Zimbabwe's GDP in 2017, and 3 million of its 16 million people relied on tobacco for their livelihood. The main export market is China, which purchased 54% of Zimbabwe's tobacco exports in 2015. Since

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

began in 2000, most of the white-owned commercial tobacco farms have been seized by the government and redistributed to small-scale black farmers. Production of tobacco was disrupted, and the harvest declined by 79% between 2000 and 2008. However, the industry recovered after the contract system was introduced in 2008. In 2014, Zimbabwe made 217 million kg of tobacco, the third largest crop on record.

Potatoes

Vocational education

Agricultural college This article lists agricultural universities and colleges around the world, by continent and country. Africa Algeria * Higher National Agronomic School (French name: Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique) Benin * Agricultural University of ...

s in Zimbabwe include Chibero Agricultural College, Esigodini Agricultural College, Gwebi Agricultural College, Kushinga Phikelela National Farmer Training Centre, Mazowe Veterinary College, Mlezu Agricultural College, and Rio Tino Agricultural College.Ministry of Agriculture, front page
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References

External links

Ministry of Agriculture

United Nations Development Program in Zimbabwe (UNDP)

CIA World Factbook, Zimbabwe
{{Africa topic, Agriculture in