Ways Forward? Technical Choices, Intervention Strategies and Policy Options 375roads budget, with very little done to improve feeder roads away from the main
arteries. In the CMDT zone there is assured transport for the collection of cotton
and delivery of inputs. For Tissana and Siguiné, the large market town of Niono is
relatively close and provides many opportunities to diversify crops and income
sources. Even in areas much further from markets, people often walk very consid-
erable distances to market. But these distances limit the kind of crop which can be
grown for sale, since it must withstand the heat and jolting during the journey, as
well as increasing the time and costs involved.
In Zimbabwe in the 20 years since independence there have been major invest-
ments in road building, including roads within the communal areas, making trans-
port and marketing considerably easier. There has been a resultant growth in bus
and lorry traffic in the communal areas, with competition between operators driv-
ing prices down, although this effect has been offset to some extent by higher fuel
costs stemming from currency devaluation. There are some differences in the level
of rural road infrastructure between the study areas, with Mangwende being par-
ticularly well served with good connections to Harare and Marondera. Farmers
regularly hire transport in groups for the transport of their produce. For vegetables
in particular, timely delivery is key in order to gain the highest prices. In Chivi, the
road networks have significantly improved in recent years. However, the distance
to major market towns is larger than in Mangwende, with Masvingo being the
most important. The road to South Africa which runs through Chivi provides
important opportunities for trading both agricultural produce and other items.
The tourist traffic along the road also provides a ready market for a range of pro-
duce, including craft items.
Research and extension services
Research and extension service provision has undergone major changes over the
last decade in all three countries. In part this has been due to structural adjustment
reforms which have reduced the expenditure levels in government services. But, in
addition, there have been some other changes in focus, with a gradual realization
of the need to gear research and extension support to the needs of small-scale farm-
ers. In all three countries this has been a slow process, but through interaction with
a range of project-based initiatives, both within and outside government, some
changes are being seen in the broader national agricultural research and extension
strategy in all three countries.
Since the 1970s, agricultural research and extension in Ethiopia has been asso-
ciated with a technical package approach. A range of programmes have advocated
different technical solutions to small-scale farming problems, but with relatively
limited impact. While there has been important research, particularly on new vari-
eties, this has had a limited impact on farming livelihoods in areas such as Wolayta.
One criticism is that research has been largely focused on cereal crops for the high-
land areas. This is of clear national importance, but it has resulted in other agricul-
tural production systems – including particularly the enset/root crop and pastoral