Agriculture
Agriculture is the most common economic activity in the Limpopo river basin. About 28 percent of the basin’s total land area is under crop production. Approximately 0.6 percent of the total basin area is under irrigation. High value crops produced under irrigation include sugarcane, citrus and bananas.

Although the basin has great irrigation potential, only a fraction of it is under irrigation. South Africa has benefited most from this infrastructural development, with 198,000 ha under irrigation. This is followed by Mozambique which is irrigating 40,000 ha. Zimbabwe has 3,992 ha, while Botswana has 1,381 ha under irrigation in the basin.

Livestock is the principal form of economic activity in most parts of the basin, but moreso in the upstream parts of the Limpopo area, though its nature and degree of importance varies greatly. In the rural areas, rearing of small stock is quite important in all the basin countries except for South Africa.

Overstocking of domestic animals is a major factor contributing to the deterioration of land quality in the basin. In Zimbabwe, for example, communal cattle numbers between 1980-91 increased from about 2.9 million to 4.09 million, recording an average annual growth rate of three percent, despite the severe effects of the 1982-84 drought. In Botswana, stocking rates in the rural areas are generally very high while the same has been observed in some parts of South Africa.

Country	Irrigation Potential (Ha)
Botswana	15 208
Mozambique	148 000
South Africa	131 500
Zimbabwe	10 900