8. The Role of Agricultural Output and Sustainability in the Economic Growth Matrix in Zimbabwe

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Zimbabwean economy, contributing significantly to employment, export earnings, raw materials, and food security. The performance of this sector is critical in the growth of other sectors and the growth of the whole economy. The main objective of this study was to empirically examine the contribution of the agriculture output to economic growth in Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2018 using the ordinary least squares (OLS) model. The results indicate that the agricultural value added, industrial value added, service value added, and government expenditure (on agriculture) value added were all significant in influencing the national output under the study period. The Johansen co-integration test was also employed, and it shows the existence of a positive long-run relationship between agriculture and economic growth. The findings from this study suggest that agriculture output contributes to economic growth, although its contribution has been decreasing over time. The study, therefore, recommends that for Zimbabwe to attain the highest economic growth, the government should invest in interventions that promote the growth of agriculture output, such as the generation and diffusion of new technologies through research and development, which will help in discovering new methods of increasing agriculture output, and increase economic growth.