Unpacking the Zimbabwean Smallholder Banana Farmers’ Dilemma along Value Chains: A Survey in Mutasa District

This article unpacks the Zimbabwean smallholder banana farmers’ dilemma along value chain. Despite a plethora of interventions seeking to empower the smallholder banana farmers, cocktail of challenges compromises success. The study adopted a quantitative and descriptive research approach to examine the challenges faced by the Zimbabwean smallholder banana farmers. A survey in Mutasa District of Manicaland Province culminated in the collection of data from 218 smallholder banana farmers. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and there was use of descriptive statistics in analysis. Smallholder banana farmers’ efforts were constrained by their limited voice and power to influence profitable returns. Value chain players guarded jealously their returns with limited to no support made to alleviate farmers from poverty. Smallholder farmers continue to be marginalised along the value chain, and encounter stumbling blocks during pre-production, production, post-harvest management, and marketing. The dilemma of Zimbabwean smallholder banana farmers along the value chain is subject to limited research. The study recommends strategies to economically empower the smallholder banana farmers.