ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews the principle levels which the process of technological development has gone through, while following a historical perspective and highlighting the salient technology related features of each level. Innovation and technology were geared to the immediate requirements of agriculture and industry where the techniques were evolved, utilized and disseminated while preserving the integrity of the village community. The major lines of industry centred around iron, copper and gold mining, washing and smelting; tobacco growing and curing; cotton growing and weaving; pottery and the making of simple tools and agricultural implements. In fact, the mining industry has occupied a dominant position in the economy from the beginning of the colony's history until the late 1930s in spite of the growth of agriculture. The central deliberative body overviewing agricultural science and technology activities nationwide is the Agricultural Research Council, related organizationally to the Scientific Council of Zimbabwe.