Climate Resilience Training and Agricultural Productivity in Zimbabwe's Highveld Region: A Policy Analysis

Climate change poses significant challenges to agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe's Highveld region, where smallholder farmers face unpredictable weather patterns and soil degradation. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including surveys and interviews with a sample of 150 randomly selected farmers from the Highveld region. Data were collected over two years post-training to measure productivity changes. Following climate resilience training, there was a notable increase in maize yields by an average of 20% compared to pre-training levels, indicating improved agricultural efficiency and sustainability practices among participants. The findings suggest that climate resilience training can significantly enhance the agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe's Highveld region. This approach offers a promising strategy for bolstering food security and reducing poverty in the area. Given the positive outcomes, it is recommended that government and development agencies invest more resources into climate resilience training programmes for smallholder farmers in the Highveld region.