Zimbabwe

A

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

Around 26 per cent of Zimbabwe’s economically active population is engaged in agriculture, which contributes about 60 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The principal cash crops are tobacco and maize, which are grown mainly in the northern and central regions. In 2005 annual production totalled about 3.29 million tonnes of sugar cane, 0.90 million tonnes of maize, 140,000 tonnes of wheat, 265,000 tonnes of cotton, and 65,000 tonnes of tobacco. Other major crops include tea, coffee, cut flowers, peanuts, citrus fruit, and sorghum.

One of the priorities after independence was to improve the access to agricultural services and markets of the country’s black farmers, who farm small plots, and are called in Zimbabwe “peasant” or “communal” sector farmers. The result of these policies was astonishing. From being marginal contributors to the production of marketed maize, peasant farmers by the mid-1980s were contributing almost 50 per cent of the total. Total marketed production also soared, enabling Zimbabwe to become a major regional exporter of the crop. All this occurred despite severe drought, which had led to famine in neighbouring states, but which Zimbabwe survived because of its large stockpiles of grain. The picture changed at the end of the 1990s, however, when internal political turmoil curtailed the export market and raised the threat of food shortages. President Mugabe’s controversial land reform programme that expropriates land from white farmers, largely by force, to re-distribute among blacks has been divisive. See History below.

By the late 1980s large-scale commercial farmers, the main growers of tobacco, were shifting out of maize and tobacco into new crops like green beans and other vegetables, and flowers, which are exported to a number of countries. Livestock-raising and dairy farming are also of major importance. Beef, which is of high quality, is exported to the EU. In 2005 the country had about 23.1 million chickens, 5.40 million cattle, 2.97 million goats, 610,000 sheep, and 610,000 pigs.

Zimbabwe’s annual roundwood cut in 2005 was about 9.11 million cu m (322 million cu ft); most of it was used for household fuel. The fish catch in 2004 amounted to 15,955 tonnes mainly from Lake Kariba. Trout, prawns, and bream are farmed.

B

Mining

The mining sector is the leading export sector, with about 40 per cent of earnings. Zimbabwe is, with South Africa, the world’s leading supplier of high-grade chromium ore and nickel. Other minerals include asbestos, coal, iron ore, cobalt, and copper. There was a major expansion in Zimbabwe’s gold production in the 1980s, following the introduction of cheap leaching techniques enabling the recovery of ore from old waste tips.

C

Manufacturing

Manufacturing grew rapidly in Zimbabwe after World War II and especially during the period of international sanctions. The leading manufactures include food products, machinery, metal products, textiles, fertilizer, clothing, footwear, chemicals, and alcoholic beverages. Other major manufactures are transport equipment, electrical machinery, mining machinery, pulp and paper products, tobacco products, and pharmaceuticals. Until the late 1980s the sector was predominantly oriented to servicing the domestic economy. However, backed by financial incentives, there was a major drive to increase manufacturing exports at the end of the decade, which met with some success throughout the 1990s, especially regionally.

D

Energy

Zimbabwe has considerable hydroelectric power and coal resources. The country gets most of its electric power from the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River. Coal-fired thermal power stations provide the rest; a large new thermal power station was built in the 1980s near the coalfields at Hwange in the north-west. Total production in 2003 was about 8.9 billion kWh.

E

Transport

Zimbabwe has a road network totalling about 91,810 km (57,048 mi) in length. About 70 per cent are improved all-weather roads, including about 19 per cent paved roads. In 2002 there were around 44 passenger cars per 1,000 people. The country is also served by 3,077 km (1,912 mi) of well-maintained railways, with links to Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, and ports on the Indian Ocean in Mozambique. Road and rail connections with Zambia and Mozambique were restored in 1980 following independence. Most of the major towns are served by air transport. There are major international airports at Harare, Bulawayo, and Victoria Falls. Air Zimbabwe is the national carrier.