Effects of Cash Crop Production on Food Crop Productivity in Zimbabwe: Synergies or Trade-Offs?

Abstract

This paper studies the dynamics between cash cropping and food crop productivity in Gokwe North District in Zimbabwe, a major cotton producing area. The main research issues were: (1) to identify the determinants of commercialized crop production at the household level; and (2) to determine the effect of increasing crop commercialization on household food productivity. The paper derives a household crop commercialization index, defined as the ratio of crop sales to total crop production. Econometric models were developed for identifying the determinants of household-level commercialization and for measuring its effects on food crop productivity.