Farming guides

Crop and livestock guides for Zimbabwean farmers

Planting windows, spacing, fertiliser rates and spray programmes written for Zimbabwe's natural regions. Open any guide to read the basics free — the full stage-by-stage programme, every input and the printable version are inside the FarmInvest app.

The full farming cycle

Complete, free guides covering every stage of the season — no account needed.

🌍 Land and land preparation

Choosing, renting and preparing farmland in Zimbabwe and South Africa — soils, water, natural regions, leases and tillage.

🚜 Equipment and mechanisation

Tractors, implements and tractor hire — what horsepower you need, what to own versus hire, and how to keep running costs down.

🌱 Crop choice and planting

Choosing the right crop and variety for your region, planning rotations, and getting plant population and planting dates right.

🧪 Inputs: fertiliser and chemicals

Buying and using fertiliser, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides correctly — rates, timing, mixing, safety and storage.

🌾 Harvest, storage and selling

Harvesting at the right moisture, cutting post-harvest losses, grading, storing safely and timing your sale.

Crop and livestock guides

🌽 Maize

Zimbabwe's staple crop. Grown mostly rain-fed in summer, with irrigated winter maize in some areas.

Plant with the first effective rains: mid-Nov to mid-Dec (early Nov in Regions I–II).

🍂 Flue-cured Tobacco

Zimbabwe's leading export crop. High value but input- and labour-intensive, and regulated by the TIMB.

Seedbeds sown June–Aug; irrigated transplanting from 1 Sept, dryland from Nov.

🫘 Soyabean

Excellent rotation crop that fixes nitrogen and supplies the local stockfeed and oil industry.

Plant late Nov to end Dec; avoid planting after 5 January.

🥜 Groundnuts

Popular smallholder cash and food crop, valuable in rotation and largely grown by women's groups.

Plant with the first rains, mid-Nov to mid-Dec.

🍅 Tomatoes

High-value horticultural crop grown open-field and in greenhouses for local fresh markets.

Year round with irrigation; avoid transplanting into peak frost (June–July) in cold areas.

🫛 Sugar Beans

Short-season, high-value legume grown in summer rain-fed and winter irrigated slots.

Rain-fed Dec–Jan; irrigated winter crop planted Feb–Mar in frost-free areas.

🌾 Winter Wheat

Fully irrigated winter crop, the backbone of national flour supply.

Plant 1 May – 31 May. Yield drops sharply for every week planted after 31 May.

🥬 Cabbage & Leafy Vegetables

Fast-turnover vegetable with reliable local demand; ideal starter crop for new growers.

Year round with irrigation; best quality in the cool dry season.

🥔 Potatoes

High-input, high-return tuber crop with year-round demand. Zimbabwe treats potato as a strategic food crop — seed quality and blight control decide your profit.

Main crop Feb – Apr (winter crop, harvest Jun – Aug); summer crop Oct – Dec in cooler high-veld areas.

🍉 Watermelon

High-value, quick-return summer crop with strong urban demand; needs heat, space and clean water.

Aug – Jan under irrigation; main dryland crop planted with the rains in Nov – Dec.

🐟 Aquaculture — Tilapia

Zimbabwe's leading farmed fish. Fast growing, tolerant of warm shallow water, and sold live or fresh at a strong price.

Stock Sep – Nov so the grow-out runs through the warm months; growth stalls below 20 °C in winter.

🌶️ Bird's Eye Chilli

A small-area, high-value export crop. Contracted by processors for dried pods and oleoresin, with several picks per plant over 2–3 years.

Nursery Jul – Sep, transplant Sep – Nov; first picking about 4 months later and picking continues for up to 2 years.

🐖 Piggery (Pork Production)

Fast turnover livestock enterprise. A sow gives 2–2.4 litters a year and weaners reach 90–100 kg baconer weight in about 5–6 months.

Year-round. Farrow into the cooler months where possible; heat stress above 30 °C cuts conception and appetite.

🐐 Goat Production

Low-input, drought-tolerant stock suited to Regions IV and V. Goats browse where cattle cannot and give a fast return through kids and chevon sales.

Year-round. Plan kidding for Feb–Apr and Sep–Oct so does kid when browse and grass are available.

🐄 Cattle Fattening (Pen Feeding)

Buy in lean steers, feed a high-energy ration for 90–120 days and sell at a higher grade and weight. A short-cycle, working-capital business rather than a breeding one.

Best window is Jun – Nov: lean cattle are cheap after the dry season starts and beef prices peak into the festive season.