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There is a need for the agricultural technical vocational education and training curriculum in Zimbabwe to be reformed so that it can respond to changes in farmer demographics, the expanding roles of agricultural extension officers (AEOs), changes in technology and climate change. The current agriculture curriculum was developed for a different context altogether; therefore, it now lacks relevance to the prevailing socio-economic, political and environmental changes. There is a need for the curriculum to respond to the evolving needs of farmers, AEOs and institutions providing agricultural extension, and to match the changes in AEOs’ occupation role profiles. This article draws on curricular documents from five institutions involved in the agricultural extension curriculum and policy, together with 22 respondents, with the aim of exposing gaps in the agricultural extension curriculum. In addition, the article explores the ways in which the curriculum can be reimagined to meet the needs of small-scale farmers, AEOs and emerging agricultural developments and digital technologies. The authors advance what might be the processes of change in the curriculum, highlighting the weaknesses of the current curriculum as well as what a more responsive curriculum for Zimbabwe should look like in the light of both local and international expectations. In so doing, it contributes to a wider international debate about agricultural education reform.

The study sought to investigate the prospects of equipping hearing impaired youths in peri-urban Masvingo District with skills for employment and self-employment in view of the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.  The study used the Human Capital Theory as the theoretical framework. A case study research design was used.  Data was collected through semi-structured interviews of eight purposefully selected hearing impaired vocational graduates as well as four key informant interviews with lecturers at the special school. Observations were also done to augment data from the interviews. Thematic analysis was used in analyzing the data. The study revealed that the hearing-impaired graduates acquired technical and vocational and skills at the special school. However, despite the high skill levels, they were not being utilized for their livelihoods. Instead of utilizing their technical and vocational skills, most of the graduates were engaged in self-initiated micro-entrepreneurial activities such as street vending. The major challenges to employment and self-employment included lack of capital, communication barriers and lack of representation and clear policy. The study recommends the realignment of vocational skills with the reality in which hearing-impaired graduates experience daily to focus more on entrepreneurship and community development in view of a weak economy which makes employment and self-employment difficult to achieve.

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