Land reform has been going on in Zimbabwe since the state attained independence from Britain in 1980 as a way of enhancing agrarian livelihoods for the formerly marginalized people. This study argues that, the Land Reform Programme in Southern Matabeleland rather than enhancing agrarian livelihoods, well established livelihoods have actually been drastically reduced. This has been exacerbated by the state programme of land re-distribution that prescribes a „one size fits all‟ model. Yet this is contrary to the thinking in development discourse that equitable land distribution increases rural livelihoods. As a way of gathering data this study utilized ethnography and case study methodologies. I spent two years interacting and interviewing purposively selected new resettles, communal residents, migrant workers and gold panners in this region. Results from this study confirm that, land reform has greatly reduced livelihoods, particularly agrarian livelihoods. Also, this research has found out that, the majority of residents now depend on off-farm livelihoods such as gold panning and migration to neighbouring South Africa. This thesis therefore concludes that, despite a massive expropriation of former commercial farms, people of Southern Matabeleland have not benefitted much as the village settlements (A1) and the small size farms (A2) have not received support from this live-stocking community. People in this region pin their hopes on livestock rearing to sustain their livelihoods and this study therefore recommends that, any agrarian transformation programmes should address the issues that promote livestock rearing

The challenge in most developing countries is lack of funding in education. This leaves no option for most learners except to drop out of school. Even when safety nets are provided for by governments, this does not fully address the issues of access, equity and retention in secondary education. Education for All, as pronounced in the Dakar Declaration (2000) calls on governments to address access, retention and equity in basic education, overlooking the provision of secondary education. Many policies were adopted by governments in post-colonial rule in Africa and Asia to address the colonial disparities in education. This had a tendency of drowning the budgets in educational matters, notwithstanding the issues of fully addressing access, equity and retention in secondary education. In the developing world, the bulk of the population lives in rural areas where infrastructure for teaching and learning still has to catch up with the urban setting. In view of the global economic meltdown in the 1980s, 1990s and mid-2008, education has seen a squeeze on its budget. It is in this context that funding for secondary education has to be analysed in order to establish policies and programmes which are most suitable and sustainable to enable access, equity and retention of learners in secondary education. Models of funding in various countries are carefully examined in this study, in order to draw on the best practices in funding secondary education as applicable to the Zimbabwean case, and possibly to other countries in a similar situation. The research was carried out in three administrative districts of the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. Using a mixed methods approach, this study examines the safety nets for the provision of secondary school education in Zimbabwe and proposes better ways to finance secondary school education. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

This study seeks to determine the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The study was motivated by the fact that benefits of ICT development still need to be known among rural smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. ICTs have been upheld as catalysts for the promotion of rural livelihoods the world over. The question that remains is whether ICTs in Zimbabwe promote livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Although the Government formulated the ICT policy in 2005, the benefits still need to be known among rural smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The challenges faced by smallholder farmers include limited access to ICTs, high costs in ICT services and lack of ICT infrastructural development in the country. The challenges hindered ICT benefits that are expected to accrue to smallholder farmers. This study is significant in the view that most studies on ICT have focused on the general roles of ICT on rural development without giving particular attention to smallholder farming that has a potential of reducing poverty and promoting food security. For a theoretical lens, the Sustainable Livelihood Approach was used with special attention to Chapman et al (2001)’s information wheel. Regarding methodological issues, the study followed a qualitative research methodology guided by a secondary analysis research design. Data were collected from published reports of government, reports from the Ministry of ICT, internet, journals, newspapers and periodicals. The study established that ICTs promote livelihoods of smallholder farmers through the dissemination of vital information for improvement of agricultural productivity. From the research findings, the study proposes four main recommendations. Firstly, strengthening of ICT policy for effective smallholder farmers. Secondly, the government to organise ICT awareness campaigns directed towards rural people especially smallholder farmers. Thirdly, up scaling ICT Infrastructural development .Finally, a large-scale ICTs and livelihoods research must be commissioned in the country.

This research appraises the impact of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme at three resettled communities in Kadoma District, Zimbabwe. In particular it assesses the livelihood practices of land recipients and their effects on the natural environment. Two of the communities, Lanteglos and CC Molina were resettled under the A1 villagised and self-contained settlement scheme and are found in the Natural Farming Region III. Pamene, the third community, was resettled under the A2 small-scale commercial settlement scheme and is found in the Natural Farming Region IIb. Multiple research methods including household surveys, interviews, observations, reviews of literature and map construction through the use of Geographic Information Systems, allowed for the collection of empirical, descriptive, and spatial data to provide for the appraisal. The land use practices included dry land crop production, livestock rearing, vegetable gardening and exploitation of the natural environment for a variety of purposes. Farming was mostly subsistence with the use of traditional equipment by all three communities. Tenure was perceived to be insecure by beneficiaries and although a variety of papers to show ownership were held, none provided for leasing or freehold tenure. Despite acquiring natural capital from the resettlement process, the findings of this research show low levels of financial, physical and social capital amongst beneficiaries. Moreover climatic variability, the declining macro-economic and unstable political environment and little support from government have adversely affected the livelihoods of beneficiaries. The implication of all this has been a reduction in livelihoods that are based solely on agricultural production, leading to off-farm practices primarily exploiting the natural environment. The long term effect would be increased degradation of the environment, leading to reduced arable and grazing land, and thereby hindering sustainable livelihoods from farming. Recommendations are proposed based on this research’s findings being typical in Zimbabwe. Central to this is the need for government to revise its present land policy and, provide for a comprehensive and holistic land policy that should be based on the vision of how agriculture should evolve in Zimbabwe

MESMEG / Department of Mining and Environmental Geology / See the attached abstract below

Text in English / The study analysed the effects of conservation farming in Zimbabwe using a mixed methodology approach. This analysis comes against the background of the recognition that climate change, as characterized by severe droughts, has played a significant role in reducing agricultural productivity, in the process leaving smallholder farmers and the nation of Zimbabwe exposed to recurrent food insecurity. Conservation farming was introduced as a climate adaptation strategy that was aimed at improving crop yields. The study focused on assessing the association between the adoption of conservation farming and a concomitant increase in agricultural productivity. This was key in understanding if there are benefits of using conservation farming as opposed to making use of the conventional method of farming. The study also investigated the nature of conservation farming being practiced in Umguza District; this was done in order to understand whether smallholder farmers are implementing all the key principles underpinning the use of conservation farming. The study further assessed the challenges and opportunities that exist through the use of conservation farming with the aim of coming up with sustainable solutions to the challenges affecting smallholder farmers. The study went on to assess the factors that determine the adoption and maximum utilization of conservation farming. Identification of these key variables was instrumental in the design of a localized conservation farming model. Study results revealed that conservation farming is an effective method of increasing agricultural productivity. The study also established that smallholder farmers are not implementing all the key principles of conservation farming and this was attributed to the failure to include the smallholder farmers in the design of conservation farming models. It was further revealed that smallholder farmers face various challenges that include access to inputs and limited support from the government. Implications of the study highlight the need for the community to be actively involved in the design of a conservation farming model localized to the unique context of smallholder farmers. A prototype for implementing a sustainable conservation farming model was developed in collaboration with the smallholder farmers as part of a solution based approach to dealing with the challenges affecting smallholder farmers. / School of Agriculture and Life Sciences / Ph. D.

This study examines the role of livelihood diversification in promoting household food security with particular reference to Hurungwe District in Zimbabwe. This focuses on assessing the contribution and impact of predominant livelihood diversification strategies in study area. The study employed qualitative methods of research entailing focus group discussions, observation, key informant interviews and literature review as methods of data collection. The study revealed that limited access to credit, skills development, markets and transport infrastructure weaken the efficacy of nonfarm livelihoods to improve food security. Key recommendations are that government, NGOs and communities must work in tandem to increase livelihood options for food insecure communities. Suggested strategies include increasing access to micro finance, vocational skills training and other support services paying attention to gender considerations. Areas requiring further investigation which emanated from the study include the impact of the shift to tobacco farming and how biotechnology has affected smallholder farmers. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

This study examines the role of livelihood diversification in promoting household food security with particular reference to Hurungwe District in Zimbabwe. This focuses on assessing the contribution and impact of predominant livelihood diversification strategies in study area. The study employed qualitative methods of research entailing focus group discussions, observation, key informant interviews and literature review as methods of data collection. The study revealed that limited access to credit, skills development, markets and transport infrastructure weaken the efficacy of nonfarm livelihoods to improve food security. Key recommendations are that government, NGOs and communities must work in tandem to increase livelihood options for food insecure communities. Suggested strategies include increasing access to micro finance, vocational skills training and other support services paying attention to gender considerations. Areas requiring further investigation which emanated from the study include the impact of the shift to tobacco farming and how biotechnology has affected smallholder farmers. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)