Unblocking Supply of Agricultural Finance in Zimbabwe: A Review of Cases Involving Risk-Mitigating Mechanisms

Access to finance is crucial in facilitating investments in productivity-enhancing technologies among farmers, and for increasing the scale of production. This is expected to contribute to increased incomes and food security in primarily agrarian societies. However, in Zimbabwe, there exists a substantial financial gap in the agricultural sector. The share of commercial loans to agriculture …

Policy Brief on Smallholder Productivity and Subsidies – Policy Issues, Opportunities and Recommendations for Zimbabwe

The majority of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe cultivate very small plots, with 40-52 percent cultivating less than 1 hectare (Ha) and 70-75 percent cultivating less than 2Ha. This means any agricultural and food security strategy that does not recognize this structure will likely be ineffective to achieve inclusive and broad-based poverty reduction and agricultural growth. …

Video: Food Consumption Patterns in Zimbabwe

Rapid urbanization, rural transformation and changes in food consumption patterns can spur demand for agricultural produce from the smallholder farm sector, creating urban-rural linkages expanding markets for various crops and livestock products. Quality and quantity of food consumed is influenced by many factors that have complex interactions including government policy, knowledge, income, food preferences, economic …

Video: LFSP beneficiaries share their experiences

The Livelihoods and Food Security Programme (LFSP) has transcended an important milestone by releasing a series of beneficiary-produced videos through the Learning Project. The name, Learning Project, is self-consciously taken from the BBC Radio 4 programme called the Listening Project, which records conversations between people on any subject and plays back an edited version over the radio …