Abstract:
Traditionally, southern Matabeleland is a cattle-producing region of Zimbabwe,
punctuated by crop farming as key livelihood strategies. With the increasingly
rampaging climate change effects on rain-fed agriculture, dwindling grazing
pastures and competing ecosystem-based livelihoods, agricultural communities
have diversified into artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASM) in the same region.
This practice has brought conflicting livelihood strategies together in what
scholars describe as the tragedy of ecosystem services. Artisanal mining, rain-
fed agriculture, as well as irrigation-based farming are ecosystem-based rural
livelihoods for coping with vulnerability of rural communities in drought prone
areas. Scantily regulated, ASM often negatively affects other land-use activities,
to the detriment of sustainable livelihoods and food security. The article
explored the convergence of communal farming and ASM, and analysed the
perspectives of ASM among agricultural communities in Umzingwane district
of southern Matabeleland. A qualitative approach and case study design was
used alongside purposive sampling technique to select the study area and the
study participants. Data collection instrument triangulation strengthened the
quality of data and validity of findings. The study concludes ASM and small-
scale irrigation and communal farming are paradoxical, pulling together and
apart. On one hand, proceeds from artisanal-gold-mining pay for labour in rain-
fed communal and irrigation farming while surprisingly artisanal gold miners
provide a major market for irrigation produce. However, ASM is notorious for
competing and degrading farming ecosystems in pursuit of sustainable
livelihoods. This manifests through encroaching ASM activities that elbow
irrigation and communal farmers from fertile lands, threatening livelihoods and
food security in Umzingwane district. Results show there exists embedded
complementarity among irrigation, rain-fed and ASM despite conflicting
regulatory frameworks. The article recommends the harmonisation of policies
to build on this relationship while abating the negative competitive aspects
between the livelihood strategies to strengthen the synergies for the
sustainability of the two.
