Ignatius Banda

The rains that fell in the past week after a long dry patch have awakened small farmers deep in rural Plumtree to the reality of sparse rainfall.

Easily portable, consumable goods from Zimbabwe are increasingly finding their way into neighbouring countries as cross-border traders search for deals to earn much-needed foreign currency. Zimbabwe is battling acute foreign-exchange shortages as its political and economic crisis drags on.

Sithabile Khuzwayo is one of many women who bring groceries and clothing from across the borders of neighbouring Botswana and South Africa to sell at the flourishing flea markets of Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo. She said the hostility of Botswana’s locals to Zimbabwean traders has made buying wares in Botswana risky.