Foreword

Abstract

Horticultural production is expanding very rapidly in Zimbabwe, as throughout much of the tropics and subtropics. This results from a number of separate developments: As population increases so must the output per unit of land. Horticultural crops are outstanding from this point of view, giving much higher economic returns and also surprisingly high food returns compared with staple crops, cabbages, for example, giving ten times the cash value and the same edible protein value as wheat per ha (Horton, 1990). As population increases so does the need for employment opportunities. Horticulture is labour-intensive and generates the wealth to pay for labour so is supported by government for its role in employment creation (Government of Zimbabwe, 1986).