based on the government’s priorities on agricultural development. The industry grew from the 1930s
that targeted primarily large scale commercial farmers, through the liberalization period of the mid
1990s, and recent changes that have introduced controls on the marketing system. Since 2000,
following the fast track land reform program, Zimbabwe has faced food insecurity challenges that
have been exacerbated by the political and economic crises. This prompted the government to adopt
policies that have reduced private sector interests in fertilizer supply. In this situation where explicit
fertilizer markets have been absent, relief programs have been leading in facilitating deliveries of
fertilizers to poorer smallholder farmers located even in remote areas. The supply of fertilizers in
Zimbabwe has been driven by government policy, finance and infrastructure while the demand has
primarily been a function of farmer’s capacity to acquire fertilizers, availability of water and farmers
knowledge of fertilizer use. There is need for a policy shift that promotes a competitive fertilizer
marketing to support a broader range of farmers in Zimbabwe leading to agricultural productivity
growth. Investment in infrastructure is critical to reduce marketing costs and to boost fertilizer
demand; policies that strengthen farmer’s capacity to acquire fertilizers and increase their knowledge
on fertilizer use complemented by technologies that promote water use efficiencies are needed.