Agricultural productivity enhancement on land Challenges, options and strategies in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Land productivity enhancement remains a pipeline dream in the African agrarian landscape as climate change continues to ravage the continent with most of the countries in dire need of productivity improvement as populations are food insecure and disproportionately vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The post-colonial African state has addressed the land issue through land reform, but the regained land remains unproductive or less productive than it was before causing the quest for land productivity enhancement strategies clearer than before. The article critically examines the strategies and options of the farmers in Zimbabwe on land productivity enhancement amid the vagaries of climate change that are transforming land into barren land. The study was guided by the climate-smart agriculture concept as the conceptual framework that attempts to reduce the impacts of climate change while, improving productivity in the agricultural sector. The study adopted a qualitative methodology with a bias towards the case study research design. The study used secondary data as the source of data gathering. The study found that lack of institutional support is the main challenge encountered in enhancing land productivity. The study revealed that climate-smart agriculture has become one of the strategies to improve productivity and reduce crop failure through the growing of small grains that are drought resistant. The study concluded that climate-smart agriculture can be the only way towards land productivity enhancement. The study recommends the inclusion of technology-based agricultural productivity enhancement strategies.