Briefing Paper

Policy and Institutional Arrangements for Managing Risk for Crop Production and Post-Harvest Handling in Disaster-Prone Areas of Zimbabwe

Agriculture in Zimbabwe is now predominantly driven by smallholder farmers. 90% of the farming land is in the hands of smallholder farmers practicing mixed crops and livestock production systems.The predominance of rain-fed crop production makes the country vulnerable to the adverse effects of rainfall variations and climate change, which, for example, may reduce production of rain-fed crops and contribute to increased food insecurity. There is evidence of the synergies between economic performance, droughts and agricultural growth.Climate change poses risks for food security, health and nutrition in Zimbabwe due inter alia to threats from post-harvest losses (PHL) and production challenges related to the climate.