Finance is crucial for agriculture – for inputs, for labour, for capital investments and for dealing with emergencies – yet in Zimbabwe agricultural financing is tough. In part this is because of the state of the economy as farmers have … Continue reading → …
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ZimbabweLand
Zimbabweland end-of-year wrap-up, 2023
As has become traditional, I have compiled a list of blogs published during 2023 that have been most read. Always slightly arbitrary I know as those published most recently don’t get much of a chance to appear – anyway, the … Continue reading → …
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Eight conversations about sustainable livelihoods and rural development
Prompted by some new translations, I have discussed my short book Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development at eight different sessions over the past few months. Coming on the back of a podcast recorded in South Africa that was released earlier … Continue reading → …
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Resilience as a process: the multiple meanings of a popular buzzword
Resilience is one of those buzzwords that seems to be everywhere. Every self-respecting donor project has ‘resilience’ in the title, and no doubt in the hallowed halls of COP28 ‘resilient’ climate development is being discussed right now. But what does … Continue reading → …
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Why a focus on climate change and class struggle must be central to debates at COP28
COP28 opens in Dubai later in the week and debates about how to address the climate crisis are in the news. But in the air-conditioned halls of the conference centre there will be little talk of class struggle. Technical solutions … Continue reading → …
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Seven stories about navigating an uncertain world
This blog replicates one that first appeared on the PASTRES site. Although not about Zimbabwe’s land and agrarian change story per se, the themes are highly relevant. Indeed, how farmers, herders, traders and others navigate an uncertain environment has been … Continue reading → …
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Appropriate agricultural machinery in Zimbabwe: the vital role of rural innovation and service hubs
The previous blogs in this series have discussed the rise of small-scale mechanisation as a response to agricultural production, processing and transport challenges in Zimbabwe. The demand for new machines – of all shapes and sizes – arises due to … Continue reading → …
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On the move: transporting agricultural goods in Zimbabwe
As production and marketing has increased from the new resettlement farms, the demand for transport has grown. The earlier blog series highlighted the importance of transport operators as part of the expanding ‘hidden middle’. Transporters facilitate value chains of all … Continue reading → …
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Processing crops in Zimbabwe: adding value through mechanisation
This blog continues our short series on small-scale agricultural mechanisation in Zimbabwe. This week we turn to how mechanisation is changing the capacity to process agricultural produce and so add value locally. Selling to larger scale manufacturers, millers and so … Continue reading → …
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Small-scale mechanisation in Zimbabwean farming: boosting production
Following the introduction to the blog series last week, this blog focus on how small-scale mechanisation is boosting production across our sites. Processes of intensification and commercialisation are driving demand for a variety of forms of mechanisation to assist with … Continue reading → …
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