Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe has managed to surpass the agriculture sector’s growth target set in 2020, courtesy of various initiatives spearheaded by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development.
Five years ago, President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy, which provided the sector’s roadmap under the National Development Strategy-1 (NDS-1).
The agriculture sector was projected to grow to a US$5.2 billion industry this year, but the target has since been surpassed, as the sector is now a US$10.3 billion industry, courtesy of its sustainable, inclusive, and climate-smart transformation.
In his foreword in the launch of the Ministry’s Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy-2 (AFSRTS—2), which will run from next year up to 2030, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe’s transformation from a low-income to an inclusive, diverse, modern, and prosperous upper middle-income economy by 2030 is underpinned by agriculture.
“After several game-changing interventions, including the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme, widening of the irrigation initiative, and mechanizing the sector, production substantially grew, resulting in the sector surpassing the target.
“I commend the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development for the accelerated implementation of this Strategy, which has seen the sector grow to a US$10.3 billion industry by 2025, despite the negative impact of the worst drought in over forty years in the 2023/2024 season,” he said.
The Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Anxious Masuka said the AFSRTS-2 emphasizes the resilience of the agricultural sector, based on the principles of climate-proofed agriculture, to ensure perennial food security, away from the episodic and weather-determined food security escapades of the past.
“This AFSRTS-2 is a product of wide stakeholder consultations, and input and contributions by a diverse cross-section of society, including policymakers, value chain specialists, farmers, input suppliers, financiers, Government Ministries, departments and agencies, development partners, and others.
“The proprietary, participatory, inclusive, and a whole-of-sector approach has contributed immensely to the growth of the agriculture sector,” Masuka said.
New Ziana
