The feasibility of growing dry-land rice using sustainable agriculture on a commercial basis by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, lessons from Magwendere village, Mutasa District, Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe.
- Author
- Marinda, Stanford
- Title
-
The feasibility of growing dry-land rice using sustainable agriculture on a commercial basis by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, lessons from Magwendere village, Mutasa
District, Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. - Abstract
- Rice ( oryza) has become an important food crop in Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa. The study is to investigate the Feasibility of growing dry-land rice using sustainable means on a commercial basis in Magwendere village and to propose improved strategies. Rice has become an important food item in Zimbabwe and it is paramount that Zimbabwe produces sufficient quantities of this cereal to meet its requirements. The research design adopted in this study was the mixed method, which used quantitative and qualitative methods .to provide reliable and valid results. The research design used the purposive sampling method in selecting the participants and extraneous variability was controlled so that the overall research problem on the feasibility of dry-land rice farming through sustainable methods in Magwendere village are explored. A total of 50 participants were used in this study and these included smallholder farmers, local leadership, agriculture extension officers and community members. Fieldwork surveys, focus group discussions, questionnaires, interviews and secondary sources provided insightful information on the factors that influence the feasibility of growing upland rice in the study area. The study findings identified; presence of forested uplands, rivers and streams and abundance labour as some of the major opportunities in dry-land rice farming in the study area. The major challenges to dry-land rice farming identified in the study included; high cost of fertilizers, poor accessibility, lack of credit and funding, limited extension services, high infestation of weeds and pests, lack of appropriate technology, soil erosion and disorganised markets. Study findings identified Climate change as an existential threat to Dry-land rice farming in the study area including other areas in Zimbabwe, Africa, and the rest of the world. Rainfall variability has increased significantly and this has resulted in the planning of farming activities to be very difficult. Part of therecommendations to propose improved strategies in dryland rice farming include; use of efficient water management in irrigating rice fields, improved rice cultivars that are tolerant to moisture stress. The government must take a leading role in putting policies and institutions to support dry-land rice smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe so as to grow rice in a sustainable manner on a commercial basis and meet the rice requirements of the country
- Date
- JUNE 2023
- Publisher
- BUSE
- Keywords
- Dry-land rice, Sustainable Agriculture,smallholder farmers, Magwendere village
- Supervisor
- Dr Bowora
- Item sets
- Department of Geosciences
