Analysis of socio- economic factors affecting wheat production in Zimbabwe: a case of Nyabira, Zvimba district

Abstract

After land reform program in Zimbabwe, wheat production has been on a declining trend, with several constraints being identified hindering wheat production. These include the land policy, wheat pricing policy, high irrigation costs and government protection policies on consumers. As a result farmers have been dropping out of wheat production as it’s no longer a profitable crop to grow. This study is aimed at identifying and quantifying the socio-economic factors affecting wheat production in Nyabira, Zvimba district. The study used primary data collected from a sample of 40 randomly selected household from Nyabira. Descriptive and the Cobb-Douglas production function were used to analyse the socio-economic factors affecting wheat production in Nyabira. The results showed that 85% of the household head attained secondary education level; therefore most of the household head were literate. The majority of the household head were males (75.5%). The regression results showed that fertiliser, area under wheat, distance to the market, price and level of education were positively related to output whilst experience in wheat production was negatively related to output. The farmers also faced so many constraints with power shortages being the highly ranked challenge. The Government, Non-Governmental Organisations and private companies should emphasise on fertiliser, area under wheat, distance to the market, price and level of education so as to increase wheat production in Zimbabwe. The study recommends the government to work in hand with the private sector to introduce inputs for wheat farmers so as to help reduce their costs.