Multipurpose mosaic (“ecoagriculture”) landscapes can serve the purpose of land sharing to combine objectives of agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. Rewarding the people who shape and maintain those landscapes could act as a mechanism to generate added-value representing an…
Faced with an overabundant elephant population amid the difficult context of the land reform programme in Zimbabwe, Savé Valley Conservancy (SVC) applied for an annual management quota of 60 animals in 2008 with the objectives of controlling an increasing population, attracting goodwill from…
A preoccupation with the idea of land as a productive asset continues to dominate donor policy prescriptions imposed on poor nations of the world. The presumption is that a view of land as a productive asset implies security which then induces investment and improvements in agricultural…
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a major attribute of soil quality that responds to land management activities which is also important in the regulation of global carbon (C) cycling. This study evaluated bulk soil C and nitrogen (N) contents and C and N dynamics in three soil organic matter (SOM)…
Soil fertility decline is a major constraint to crop productivity on smallholder farms in Africa. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term (up to nine years) impacts of nutrient management strategies and their local feasibility on crop productivity, soil fertility status and…
The dominant modes of vegetation variability over Zimbabwe are investigated using principal component analysis (PCA) on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (NOAA-AVHRR) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) monthly imagery from 1982 to…
Agriculture is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases. Rice production has been identified as one of the major sources of greenhouse gases, especially methane. However, data on the contributions of rice towards greenhouse gas emissions in tropical Africa are limited. In Zimbabwe, as in…
This paper presents a methodological framework for revitalising small-scale irrigation schemes which are no longer performing well due to a combination of infrastructural, social-economic, institutional and governance problems, among others. The framework was developed as part of a project to…
Adequate operation and maintenance (O&M) of irrigation infrastructure sustains irrigation scheme facilities, reduces repair costs, helps the system last longer, and keeps irrigation efficiency at design levels. In cases where farmers do not have sufficient capacity to operate and…
The knowledge of runoff discharged by a catchment at its outlet is important for water accounting and water allocation to competing uses. Runoff generated by a catchment is important in determining the catchment water balance, estimating pollutant loads, and quantifying sediment yield and…
An evaluation of available opportunities to revive irrigation on a long abandoned irrigation scheme in a dry region of Zimbabwe is presented by assessing water availability at catchment level. The aim is to enhance the livelihoods, income and nutrition of the communities that depend on the…