This is not to say that large-scale commercial units no longer exist. Especially important in Masvingo province is the estate sector, including for example the major sugar estates in the Lowveld, which largely remained intact following land reform, with outgrower areas being transferred to sub-divided A2 plots. Today, there are still over 4m hectares under large-scale farming, some of it in very large holdings, such as the 350,000 hectare Nuanetsi ranch in Masvingo province. There are, however, perhaps only 200-300 white-owned commercial farmers still operating, with most having been displaced, along with a substantial number of farm workers. Land reform has resulted in a very different farming sector, but one that is not without considerable entrepreneurial dynamism and productive potential. This major restructuring of course has had knock-on consequences for the agricultural sector as a whole. Any radical reform will have a transitional phase as production systems, markets and trading priorities readjust. Thus the transfer of land from the narrowly-controlled, large-scale farm sector has resulted in heavy hits on certain commodities and markets. Wheat, coffee and tea have all suffered, as has the export of beef. For example, on average, across the harvests from 2001 to 2009, wheat production decreased by 27%. Tobacco also declined dramatically, but production has bounced back in recent years as new A2 farmers have gone into production. 3 National maize production has become more variable, because of the reduction of irrigation facilities and significant droughts have resulted in shortages, with average production over this period down by 31% from 1990s levels. However other crops and markets have weathered the storm and some have boomed. Aggregate production of small grains has exploded, increasing by 163% compared to 1990s averages. Edible dry bean production has expanded even more, up 282%, Cotton production has increased slightly, up 13% on average. The agricultural sector has certainly been transformed, and there are major problems in certain areas, but it certainly has not collapsed.

Select target paragraph3