Formal agricultural education in
Southern Rhodesia began in 1930, when an agricultural college opened at
Matopos. However, it closed after a few years. In the decades that followed, the farm lapsed in and out of active use.
Ian Smith, the future
Prime Minister of Rhodesia, attended courses at Gwebi in 1947 and 1948. Unlike Southern Rhodesia's agricultural school for blacks,
Chibero College, where students took three year courses, Gwebi offered two-year diploma courses, because the students generally had some experience in agriculture. After 15 years, Dr. Fielding left Gwebi in 1965 to take the position of Chair of Agriculture at
Makerere University in
Kampala,
Uganda. In October 2013, Gwebi College of Agriculture graduated 131 students.
University of Zimbabwe principal
Levi Nyagura used his
commencement speech to urge the
Zimbabwe Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development to create a bachelor's degree program at Gwebi College. He said,"Judging by the high standard of the diploma program it will no longer make sense to continue awarding Gwebi graduates a diploma. A
Bachelor of Technology degree in agriculture would be more appropriate." == Academics ==