By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana)— President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday urged farmers to make early preparations for the 2026/2027 summer cropping season to ensure food security and higher productivity.
Speaking while officially opening the 116th Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, President Mnangagwa said agriculture remains the anchor of the economy and called on all farmers to increase output and productivity.
“Going forward, I challenge the various sub-sectors, across all categories of farmers to shift the horizon, towards increased and consistent high output transformation and value addition,” the President said.
He said the Government will continue facilitating access to inputs, financing and markets.
He highlighted several strategies including contract farming, linkages with the Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange, and financing under the expanded Agricultural Finance Corporation as well as the new Credit Guarantee Scheme.
He said the target is to transition more than 1.8 million smallholder farmers into commercial value chains.
President Mnangagwa said the focus for 2026/27 must be on value addition at both village and national level to grow agro-processing’s share in manufacturing.
“On its part, Government will continue to facilitate the ease of doing business environment to ensure competitiveness of our ‘Made in Zimbabwe’ quality goods and products. Investment in laboratories, standards compliance and certification for traceability must remain our strategic priorities,” he said.
Held under the theme ‘Powering Growth: Where Agriculture, Technology and Commerce Converge’, the President said week- long exhibition provides the ecosystem where farmers can access irrigation equipment, banks can engage clients on credit, and youth can showcase agri-tech solutions ahead of the summer season.
“To the youth and women, agriculture is the overarching business of the present and future. I challenge you to lead this sector, help feed the nation and produce the feedstock for our industry,” he said.
New Ziana
