Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
70,000
4.0
Area
Production
Yield
3.5
60,000
3.0
50,000
2.5
40,000
2.0
30,000
1.5
20,000
1.0
10,000
0.5
0
0.0
Agro-regions
Figure 7.1. Area planted production and yield by agro-ecological zone in 2003/04 (FAO/WFP, 2003, 2004).
Table 7.1. Attributes of Swaziland agro-ecological zones (Magagula and Faki, 1999).
Zone
(% of total area)
Altitude range
(min-max)
Annual rainfall
(80% reliability)
Soils
Farm activities
Highveld (33%)
900-1,400
(600-1,850)
1000-1,200
acidic, low in N, P and
Mg; erosion
cattle grazing; small-scale
farming, maize is the main crop
Upper Middleveld (14%) 600-800 (400-1000) 800-1000
deep clay loam
main agricultural zone; crops:
citrus, pineapple, cotton, maize
Lower Middleveld (14%) 400-600 (250-800)
700-850
sand and sandy loam crops: groundnuts, beans,
vegetables
Western Lowveld (20%) 250-400 (200-500)
450-500
good to fair soils
crops: sugar cane, cotton
Eastern Lowveld (11%) 200-300 (200-500)
400-450
vertisols
crops: groundnuts, sorghum
Lubombo Plateau (8%) 250-600 (100-700)
550-700
escarpment, limited
arable land (20%)
main activities: ranching, maize,
cotton, minor crops
season, maize production has been declining quite steeply and the country's ability to meet
domestic demand from own production has weakened even further.
According to the data, both area planted and total output have been on the decline. For
instance, whereas area planted to maize grew from 55,970 ha in 1998/99 to 67,687 ha in
2002/2003, with a 5-year average of 63,587 ha, the area planted in 2003/2004 planting
season had declined to 54,470 ha, representing about 86% of the 5-year average. The
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