Spatial variability in soil fertility management and crop response in Mutoko communal area, Zimbabwe

This paper examines the ways in which farmers exploit edaphic variability in Mutoko communal area in northeastern Zimbabwe. Land use on ten farms was surveyed in detail. Crop development, soil type and management history were recorded, and soil samples were collected for a range of microenvironments which farmers used to their advantage. The contrast between these small spatial concentrations of nutrients and larger surrounding areas of infertile soils, and their complimentary function in relation to moisture and nutrient availability are highlighted. Crop- and soil management are interpreted in terms of farmers' strategies for dealing with environmental variability. Outsiders' subjective assessments of acceptable levels of soil fertility may be meaningless under such circumstances. In order to increase or sustain productivity, the State and researchers could support farmers' efforts to maintain flexibility in the face of uncertainty rather than proscribe farmers' actions or provide broad packages of recommendations aimed at intensification.