Potatoes were well established in contemporary Zimbabwe by the early twentieth century. In 1911, variety trials were undertaken with recorded yields up to 11.5 tonnes/ha. To avoid the introduction of pests that may hinder the production of
tobacco, one of Zimbabwe's most profitable
cash crops, the government decided early on that local potato production would be a priority. Additionally, a national breeding programme, which subjects imported potatoes to heavy quarantine, was instituted in 1956 and has been the only such programme that is authorised to do so. After the programme's institution, the mean
crop yield rose by about 9 tonnes/ha. The production of potatoes in Zimbabwe is protected under the Plant Pests and Diseases (Seed Potato Protection) Regulations in Statutory Instrument 679 (1982), although farmers themselves bear the responsibility to safeguarding their crop from diseases. Production levels in recent years have been dwindling, however, due to rising production costs – in July 2017, a
hectare of potatoes in Zimbabwe cost
US$12,000 to produce. The chairperson of the Zimbabwean Potato Council blamed this on
South Africa's
dumping of cheaper potatoes. A 2015 subjective and biased study claimed that most farmers lacked the technical know-how, but this is unverifiable. Most Zimbabweans are trained in farming and they are highly skilled as they practice farming from childhood ==Consumption==