By Simbarashe Muparaganda
Harare, New Ziana) – The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the government are scaling up two major financing programmes in the agricultural sector to enhance its resilience to climate changes, increase productivity and improve rural livelihoods in order to grow it into a US$15.8 billion industry by 2030.
The programmes targeted for financing are the Zimbabwe Agriculture Value Chain and Livelihoods Enhancement Project (ZAVaCLEP) and the Zimbabwe Agriculture Climate Resilience and Vulnerability Reduction Project (Zim-ACRES).
Speaking on Monday after meeting officials from the AfDB involved in the programmes, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Prof Obert Jiri, said the initiatives were key to achieving targets under the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy (AFSRTS2) 2026-2030.
He said the US$24.9 million Zim-ACRES grant had come at a critical time as communities recover from the devastating effects of the 2023/2024 El Niño-induced drought.
“The grant arrives at a defining moment as our rural communities rebuild from the effects of the El Niño-induced drought.
“Our focus is on building anticipatory resilience through early warning and early action systems rather than reacting after livelihoods have already collapsed,” he said.
He said government’s resilience-building framework was anchored on programmes such as Pfumvudza/Intwasa, climate-smart Village Business Units and the “Dam as an Economy” concept.
“Let me reaffirm the Ministry’s unwavering commitment to ensure that all resources availed through AfDB support, including Zim-ACRES and ZAVaCLEP, are utilised transparently, efficiently and for maximum impact on our farmers and rural communities,” said Prof. Jiri.
He highlighted that the partnership with AfDB demonstrates growing confidence in Zimbabwe’s agricultural transformation agenda and would help strengthen food security, rural incomes and climate adaptation measures across vulnerable communities.
Over the next two weeks, a joint government and AfDB mission will undertake field visits across targeted districts to supervise implementation of ZAVaCLEP, which is entering its second year, while also officially launching the Zim-ACRES programme.
TheAfDB mission is expected to engage farmers, local authorities and other stakeholders, with a focus on accelerating procurement processes, activating Village Business Units(VBU) and ensuring early warning systems are translated into practical interventions before climate shocks occur.
AfDB Programme Manager, Yappy Silungwe said the country now has an opportunity to leverage lessons from ZAVaCLEP to ensure the successful rollout of Zim-ACRES.
“The grant has come at exactly the right time, and we have a real opportunity to make it count for the farmers of Zimbabwe.
“ZAVaCLEP, which we launched in October last year, has given us valuable experience as we enter its second year, and we are now channelling those lessons directly into ensuring Zim-ACRES hits the ground running,” Silungwe said.
He urged implementing teams to accelerate project execution to ensure communities benefit from the available resources.
“The resources are there, what we are here to do is unlock the momentum, sharpen our procurement processes and get Village Business Units activated so that every dollar reaches the communities it was designed to serve.
“We are confident that with the commitment this Ministry has demonstrated, we will deliver transformational impact within this project’s lifetime.
“I am requesting the team to fast-track implementation on procurement, on Village Business Unit activation and on key recruitments so that we use every dollar of these resources for the people of Zimbabwe,” he explained.
The two projects are expected to strengthen agricultural value chains, improve climate resilience among vulnerable communities and support Zimbabwe’s broader vision of creating a modern, productive and commercially viable agricultural sector capable of driving economic growth and rural development.
New Ziana
