Harare, (New Ziana) –Zimbabwe’s ambitious Rural
Development Aid Intervention is yielding significant results, with
climate-smart farming practices driving impressive gains in production
and productivity across the country, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr
Anxious Masuka said this while presenting a paper on Smart Agriculture
at the Zimbabwe Defence University.
He said under the strategy, a suite of targeted programs is empowering
smallholder farmers to adopt sustainable, climate-resilient farming
methods.
Dr Masuka said the centerpiece of the program is the Pfumvudza/Intwasa
system, a scientific approach to precision agriculture that minimizes
soil disturbance and optimizes inputs.
“Since the 2020-2021 season, the number of Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots has
skyrocketed from 170 000 to over 7.1 million this past year – a more
than 2 000 percent increase. Yields for maize have more than doubled
under the Pfumvudza system compared to conventional methods,” he said.
Climate-smart agriculture aims to increase agricultural productivity and
resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting
sustainable practices.
“We are seeing a massive response, with agro-ecological tailoring
ensuring that what is grown is suited to the local environment.”
Complementing the on-farm innovations are ambitious efforts to
climate-proof agriculture at a national level through providing every
village in the country with detailed soil maps and equipping extension
workers with the tools to advise farmers.
The government is also rapidly scaling up mechanization, with 92 percent
more tractors distributed since 2020 and plans for a tractor in each of
the country’s 35 000 villages.
These multi-pronged initiatives are driving broad-based rural
development, aligning with the government’s vision of using agricultural
transformation to catalyze progress towards the country’s 2030
development goals.
“Agricultural development will lead to rural industrialization, and
rural industrialization will cause rural development,” said Dr Masuka.
“Rural development will then facilitate the attainment of our 2030
objectives – leaving no one and no place behind.”
With climate change posing an ever-greater threat, Zimbabwe embracing
climate-smart agriculture offers a model for other nations seeking to
future-proof their food systems.
By empowering smallholder farmers and aligning production with local
conditions, the country is charting a path towards food security,
economic opportunity, and sustainable rural transformation.
New Ziana