Abstract: | The Agricultural Producer Co-operatives attained in Zimbabwe official status in government policy thinking after independence in April 1980. The co-operatives of the producer type are not to be viewed just as a vehicle to promote rural development, but as the major instrument for socialist transformation in agriculture, consistent with government's overall aim of creating a 'socialist, egalitarian and democratic society' in Zimbabwe. This paper outlines and critically assesses the Zimbabwe government's policies and strategy for producer co-operative development in agriculture as a process towards socialist agrarian transformation, and identifies major issues that arise from the policy, strategy and implementation of the programme since 1980. It is hoped that suggestions for re-orientation of policy and strategy can be made for the future implementation of a producer co-operative development programme. Fig., notes, tab. |