Our Masvingo province A1 sites – Wondedzo and Sanangwe near Masvingo town and Clare and Lonely A near Chatsworth in Gutu – are classic dryland maize growing areas.
In good years, many tonnes of surplus are produced for sale or storage, and these moments provide the spur to invest and accumulate. The years after land redistribution saw some excellent harvests and once people had cleared land, they profited from large outputs. Large areas were planted, and granaries were bulging with maize grain. The areas planted were often virgin soil as previously the land was used for cattle ranching, so the yields were boosted due to good soil fertility, even if on otherwise poor sandy soils in miombo woodland areas.
This article is from Zimbabweland, a blog written by IDS Research Fellow Ian Scoones. Zimbabweland focuses on issues related to rural livelihoods and land reform in Zimbabwe.