Agriculture in Rhodesia

Tobacco remains an important cash crop to this day.

ZIMSEC O Level History Notes: : Zimbabwe 1894-1969: Agriculture in Rhodesia

After failing to get the desired profits and discovering the second Rand in mining, the settlers turned to agriculture

The European settlers did not immediately utilize the land they had acquired since entering Zimbabwe
This was due to
1. They lacked investment capital and equipment
2. There were still limited non-existent external markets and also internal markets
3. There were no efficient road network links, transport and railways
4. Rinderpest an east coast fever affected most of their cattle
5. Droughts and locusts affected the crops
6. There was no regular labour supply
The period from 1890-1908 gave ground to Shona peasant farmers to have successful farming
An industrial revolution which took place saw an increase in the prices of farm produce increasing their profits
Also the number of cattle owned by Africans increased from 43 926 in 1901 to 195 837
In this manner, Africans could pay taxes after selling their products rather than by working for the whites
However, for the Ndebele the story was different as their economy had been shattered during the wars
The Ndebele resorted to being labourers to meet their tax obligations
In 1903, 20% of the Shona men worked for Europeans whilst 50% of the Ndebele worked for whites
This did not go down well with European Native Commissioners in Mashonaland
The Land Settlement Committee was set up in 1905 which was responsible for encouraging European farming so that the settler could reduce the import bill and improve road networks
In 1908 the settlers changed the agricultural policy
The Agricultural Reforms Implemented by whites destroyed African farming and these include:
1. A Land Bank was set up to help Europeans acquire land in 1912.
2. European agriculture was subsidized
3. The Department of Agriculture was established in 1908 to implement agricultural policies
4. Two research stations were set up at Salisbury and Gwebi in 1909 whilst Rhodes Inyanga (Nyanga) and Matopo Estates were established in 1917
5. Agricultural training centres were established at Domboshawa and Tsholotsho
6. Extension officers were available to demonstrate how to use modern farming methods
7. Rewards were given to master farmers
8. European farmers were given new production technology especially those farming tobacco and maize
9. New markets for maize and tobacco were established
10. Maize was exported to the U.K starting from 1909, beef from 1916
11. Pricing policies discriminating against African good s were introduced, e.g. Maize Control Amendment Act of 1934
12. African farmers experienced losses and were evicted from their farms either directly or indirectly through imposition of several financial burdens and others
13. Tobacco became the most important crop earning the name the Golden Leaf and the Tobacco Marketing Act of 1936 was introduced
14. Higher breeds of maize breeds were introduced which improved yields by 39-40%
15. In 1940 the Maize Seed Association was established
16. Quasi-government or parastatals were established which promoted agriculture through marketing e.g Maize and Dairy Marketing Board, Tobacco Marketing Board and Cold Storage Commission
17. A board to deal with conservation of the environment called the Natural Resources Board was established to deal with issues such as dam building and contour ridging
18. The Agricultural Marketing Authority was established in 1967 to control and coordinate agricultural activities
Many Europeans with agricultural knowledge were attracted to buy land and a lot of land was sold after these reforms
From 1908-1914, five and half million acres of land was sold
African farmers went to settle in reserves with little productivity
After the Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Rhodesia (UDI) in 1965, economic sanctions were imposed on Rhodesia
Agriculture survived the sanctions era through governmental support but later it became less profitable