The Link between Rural Institutions and Rural Development: Reflections on Smallholder Farmers and Donors in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper draws on review of current literature to explore the relationship between rural institutions and rural development while reflecting on the linkages of smallholder farmers and donor contribution. The results presented are of qualitative data analysis from previous and current literature. The paper provides a detailed overview of nomenclaturizing rural development as a critical result of improvements in education, health, agriculture, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as part of rural industrialization in rural Zimbabwe. Improving health by investing in increased awareness and access to information sharing among communities, policy development, program planning and service delivery fosters rural development. As the world belatedly turns its attention to the pressing issues of environmental degradation and climate change, the concept of sustainability takes its rightful place at centre stage in discussions about agriculture and rural development. Improving education through promoting information and technology dissemination for learning and access to information, coordination of major sources of funding for education, policy on education for rural areas, conducting research and development as well as the total number of rural farmers assisted.

Revisiting Women Empowerment:A Review Of Policies On Landuse And Food Security In Zimbabwe.

“…When people lack secure and sustainable access to sufficient and nutritious food, hunger and malnutrition have profoundly negative impacts on their health and productivity. Given these high stakes and the recognition that food security will become an increasingly important issue in light of the growing world population, governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the international development community are paying greater attention to agricultural interventions that can help reduce global hunger and malnutrition (FAO, 2011;Dzvimbo, Monga and Mashizha, 2017). More so, secure rights to land are a critical, but often overlooked, factor in achieving household food security and improved nutritional status.…”

Improving Livelihoods of Resettled Farmers Through Development of a Knowledge Base on Climate Change in Mhondoro – Ngezi District, Zimbabwe

“…Since there is no universal way to adapt to any challenges, let alone climate change, adaptation strategies need to be context-specific. This necessitates quantification of various thresholds, such as labour, household agricultural assets, knowledge and skills that determine the resettled farmers' adaptive capacity to climate change (Dzvimbo, Monga and Mashizha, 2017). The sustainability of adaptation strategies has to be prioritized.…”

Conservation Agriculture and Climate Change: Implications for Sustainable Rural Development in Sanyati, Zimbabwe

“…Conservation Agriculture and its relationship to Climate Change: The agricultural production of farming regions is being affected by climate change throughout the world. Economic Reforms that would help countries negatively affected by climate change could include the introduction of flexible land-use policies and the elimination of subsidies (Tilahun, 2013;Dzvimbo, Monga and Mashizha, 2017). Conservation agriculture is increasingly seen as the best practice to sustainable agriculture.…”

“… Reducing the length of the different phases in the adoption of CA could accelerate the realization of livelihood outcomes.  It is vital to implement agricultural policies that put sustainable agriculture at the center, with appropriate donor and government support, incentives and institutional reform for effective transformation of farmers' productivity (Dzvimbo et al, 2017).  Climate change communication provides additional climatic information that would enable farmers relate to conservation CA as an adaptation strategy.…”

“…The majority of rural farmers depend on rain water for agricultural activities and with the changing climate, it has presented development challenges. It is in this realm that, climate change imposes constraints to food security and rural development especially in relation to smallholder farmers whose livelihoods mostly depend on rain-fed agriculture (Twomlow et al, 2008;Delgado et al, 2011;Dzvimbo, Monga and Mashizha, 2017). Negative impacts of extreme events such as floods and droughts are expected to be high in countries of the Global South's rural areas.…”