Zimbabwe

This case study of Zimbabwe has examined developments in biotechnology against the background of a welldeveloped national agricultural research, plant breeding and seeds system. It has then assessed the constraints to biotechnology research, technology development and diffusion in the light of the resources available and the technology transfer mechanisms in place for different groups of farmers.

The study concludes that, in the case of Zimbabwe's large-scale commercial farmers, the transfer of biotechnology applications will be determined essentially by their economic advantage over techniques currently in use. In the case of the small-scale and communal areas farmers, it is unlikely that biotechnology innovations — particularly when delivered as seed — would be adopted unless special policy measures to address the problems of seeds supply, are taken ...

The paper examines the effect of differing policies in the post-independence period on the agricultural and overall economic performance of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It focuses on the interaction between macroeconomic and agricultural policy reforms. It shows that macro and micro reforms need to be closely linked and that both are critical to sectoral performance. The paper identifies a number of reform options and examines their sequencing at the national and agricultural level. Such reform will greatly improve the performance of the Zambian and Zimbabwean agricultural sectors, enhancing food security, employment and economic growth ...