Constrained crop enterprise choices by smallholder farmers in semi-arid Zimbabwe

Smallholder irrigation schemes are critical in sustaining livelihoods of communities in the drier areas of Zimbabwe. The performance of these schemes as food and incomes safety nets has been questionable over recent times. Using a multinomial logit model, the study examines factors affecting smallholder irrigation farmers' selection of crop enterprises in their crop mix decisions. The paper uses cross-sectional data from 136 small holder irrigation farmers at Nharira irrigation scheme in Bikita district of Zimbabwe. A self-administered questionnaire, which was supported by key informant interviews, was used for collecting primary data on crops produced, sales made and specific household variables such as incomes and age of principal decision makers. Secondary data on contested variables such as sales and incomes were referenced. The data shows that the age of household head, association to membership groups, number of buyers available in the markets and the prices of respective crops significantly (p < 0.05) affects the choice of enterprises. The results also show that small scale irrigation farmers' decision making is constrained by lack of effective information dissemination mechanisms and weak core competencies of market signals interpretation among farmers. Stakeholders suggested the need to strengthen access to rewarding markets through decentralising marketing points. This can be sustained by information centers in their localities so as to harness from beneficial market information, which will in turn have a significant impact on how crop choice decisions are made.