chapter 3 Description of the Study Area
Introduction
This chapter gives a detailed description of the study area, including the politi- cal, economic, social, climatic, and natural resource characteristics of the field site. In-depth descriptions of the geographical location, the biosphere, and the environmental characteristics of the study site are presented. The demo- graphic characteristics of the district and the current population statistics of the study site are provided. The first section deals with the general characteris- tics of the district, while the second section presents with the characteristics of the location where the study was carried out.
Mwenezi District, Zimbabwe
This study was undertaken in Mwenezi District, situated in southeastern Zimbabwe. The district is located in Masvingo Province, one of Zimbabwe’s ten provinces. The district derives its name from the Mwenezi River, which provides irrigation water to sugar cane plantations in and around Rutenga Business Centre. Mwenezi is situated on the main A1 highway connecting with the border town of Beitbridge, is the point of entry into South Africa. Mwenezi East and Mwenezi West, the two constituent parts of the district, are situated along the Mwenezi River, which serves as the boundary between the two parts on its way to joining the Limpopo, of which it is a major tributary, in southern Mozambique.
Environmental Characteristics Mwenezi District has a total land area of 1,339,657 hectares, made up of Communal Areas, Intensive Conservation Areas for wildlife, large- and small- scale commercial farms, and old resettlement areas. The climate is characterised as hot, and rains are experienced in summer. Mwenezi lies between agro- ecological regions IV and V. The agro-ecological region classification of present- day Zimbabwe was undertaken by Vincent and Thomas (1960), based on rainfall amount and variability. Agro-ecological region 1 has the highest mean annual rainfall, and region V has the lowest. This classification led to recommendations on land use and the most productive farming systems for the farmers in each area. The ecological regions of Zimbabwe are illustrated in Figure 3.1.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi 10.1163/9789004281554_004
MOZAMIQUE
Kariba ZAMBIA Guruvs Munt Darwin Karol Mhangura Nyamapanda IIAIBindura Shmva V VIV Chinhoyi Mutoko Senket Victoria Binga Harare Falls III Chegutu Gokwe Morendera IIB Hwange Rusape III I Lupane Kwekwe Nkayl Chivhu Mutare
70 Gweru III IV Gutu Tsholotsho Chiman mani Bchenough Masvingo Bulawayo Bridge I Zvishavane III Chipinge Plumtree Mbelabela
70 Triane Gwanda West Nicholson Chiredzi BOTSWANA V
Beitbridge MOZAMBIQUE SOUTH AFRICA
Figure 3.1 Agro-ecological regions of Zimbabwe legend: I—Specialised and diversified farming region; IIA—Intensive farming region; IIB—Intensive farming region; III—Semi-intensive farming region; Region 1V—Cattle ranching; V—Extensive farming region. Source: Derived from Natural Regions and Provisional Farming Areas of Zimbabwe, 1:1,000,000 (Surveyor-General, 1998); Information supplied by the Department of Agricultural, Technical, and Extension Services (Agritex). Source: Matondi (2012)
The mean annual rainfall over Mwenezi District is some 450 to 650 mm, as indicated in Figure 3.2, which presents annual mean rainfall data for two sites within Masvingo Province and for the province as a whole. Rainfall in the district is highly variable, and the district is drought-prone. The majority of the households in the district depend on agricultural production, including livestock production (Bvocho 2005).
Natural Resources in the District Formerly, the research site was surrounded by different kinds of natural resources that encouraged tourism, but these were not spared in the land