By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana )—The Zimbabwe government is moving to accelerate the deployment of climate-smart interventions ahead of the impending El Nino phenomenon, with a focus on drought-tolerant seed varieties and smart irrigation systems, Vice President General (Retired) Dr Constantino Chiwenga said on Thursday.
He said this in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Prof Amon Murwira, at the third research for agricultural excellence and technology indaba held on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show.
VP Chiwenga said the country’s scientific defense against climate shocks should be proactive.
“As we brace for the impending El Nino phenomenon, our scientific ecosystem must first track the deployment of climate smart interventions. Our national research bodies must accelerate the development of drought tolerant seed varieties, precision agro-metrological focusing tools, and smart irrigation systems,” he said.
He said interventions should prioritize locally manufactured, affordable technologies tailored to Zimbabwe’s agro-ecological regions.
“We must transition from importing prohibitively expensive technologies to piloting, validating, and scaling home-grown gravity-fed systems, solar-powered pumping networks, and community-based water stewardship schemes,” he said, adding that building such capabilities is critical to achieving nationsl vision of becoming an upper middle income society by 2030.
Linking research to the impending crisis, VP Chiwenga said every scientific effort should be grounded in meeting basic human needs.
“The ultimate justification of all scientific inquiry is the satisfaction of human needs… food, shelter, water. Every seed variety we breed, every soil sample we analyze and every water management system we design is a direct response to our people’s right to food security and the community’s right to live free from poverty,” he said.
To steer research, VP Chiwenga called for targeted funding portfolios for climate-resilient grains, oil seeds and localized irrigation diagnostics, adding that funding portfolios are the strategic steering wheels of the cognitive machinery, transforming academic potential into purposeful national solutions.
VP Chiwenga said the response should also be inclusive, and called for mechanization models such as smart mini-pivots and machinery-sharing platforms to support smallholder farmers who are most vulnerable to drought.
He added that emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, drones, robotics and digital advisory platforms must be deployed to provide farmers with actionable, risk-mitigating data.
“Zimbabwe, therefore, must not remain a passive consumer of foreign technology. We must participate in technological development,” he said.
Agriculture, he said, remains the absolute basis and primary engine of industrialization, with crops serving as raw feedstocks for manufacturing and agro-processing, and urged stakeholders to move “beyond dialogue” and identify market-ready innovations for immediate pilot testing.
“We must always, first and foremost, believe in ourselves. If you want water, please dig a well. If you want food, please go and grow crops or animals,” he said.
New Ziana
