Commercial farming in Zimbabwe

Commercial Farm in Zimbabwe.

Inputs

• Land– ranges from 500 to 100 000 ha.
• Rainfall– water for irrigation comes from rivers, dams, lakes or aquifers.
• Capital– comes from banks or other farmers.
• Labour– this comes from the farmers himself, skilled and semi-skilled workers from the population.
• Machinery– tractors, disc harrows, ploughs, seed drills, cultivators, lorries, spray aircraft, combine harvestors, graders are used.
• Agro-chemicals– insecticides, herbicides, vaccines, fertilizers.
• Hybrid seeds – are obtained from research stations and production farms.
• Breeding stock– from other farmers or imported.

Processes

• Land preparation- tree felling is done using bulldozers, caterpillars and ripper saws. Ploughing by tractors, basal dressing of fertilisers and stalk burning are also done.
• Planting- using seed drills or by hand for tobacco.
• Weeding- is done by hand of hired labour.
• Spraying- using backpacks or by aircraft, hired labour.
• Harvesting- combine harvesters for cereals or cultivators for potatoes are used.
• Transporting- by tractor or lorries or rail or air for flowers.
• Storage- use of barns.
• Processing, grading and packing- for tea, coffee, tobacco and cotton.
• Marketing- local and abroad.

Outputs

• Food crops- maize, groundnuts, rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, potatoes, beans, peas, bananas,oranges, nartjees, apples, peaches, vegetables.
• Industrial crops- tobacco, cotton, oil seeds, sunflower, soyabeans, sugar, rubber, palm oil.
• Beverages- tea, coffee, vines.
• Meat- fresh, frozen, dried or slated.
• Milk- fresh, pasteurized, powdered, cheese, yoghurts, flavoured milk.
• Skins and hides- for shoes, belts, bags, leather cases.
• Bones, horns and hooves- for glue, buttons, enamel, pet foods.
• Manure- for feeding crops.
• Capital- for reinvestment, for labour.

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