Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
Zimbabwe is turning to its existing dams as a major source of new agricultural production, with authorities seeking to unlock underutilised water infrastructure and accelerate irrigation development as part of efforts to strengthen food security and climate resilience.
The strategy is anchored on a new approach that treats dams as broader economic assets rather than stand-alone water projects, the National Agriculture Conference and Expo 2026 heard.
Speaking during the discussions at the Conference, ZINWA Water Supply Services Manager Stanley Nazombe said the country had historically developed dams without simultaneously putting in place all the infrastructure required to derive maximum economic value from them.
He said this had resulted in some dams being completed while irrigation, water supply and other complementary facilities were developed separately or delayed.
“There was a mismatch that would happen between other activities that would also accompany the dam construction,” Nazombe said.
The new approach seeks to eliminate that fragmentation by ensuring that the development of a dam is linked to the economic activities that depend on it.
“As government now, there’s been a shift where now the dam is being taken as a component that enables other components to happen,” he said.
Under the model, a completed dam would be linked to water supply, irrigation, fisheries and, where feasible, hydropower generation.
“There are five components within the dam as an economy that we have. These are dams, the water supply, the irrigation facility, fisheries and the hydropower project,” Nazombe said.
The approach comes as government seeks to rapidly expand irrigation capacity and make agriculture less dependent on rainfall.
According to Nazombe, significant potential exists within existing dams, allowing the country to expand irrigation without relying exclusively on new dam construction.
He said the immediate focus would be on existing infrastructure with capacity to support additional irrigation.
“There is a significant number of dams that have been lying underutilised,” he said.
The strategy is particularly important given the impact of drought on agricultural production. Expanding irrigation would allow farmers to maintain production even when rainfall patterns become unreliable.
Nazombe said the wider objective was to ensure that water infrastructure also responded to the challenges posed by climate change.
The government’s irrigation ambitions, however, will require substantial capital beyond the resources available from Treasury.
Asked whether the accelerated programme would be financed directly by government, Nazombe said private investment would be essential.
“That will certainly not be achieved through government on its own,” he said.
“It allows other players also to come into play and allow for partnership with government so that we are able to ensure that it is achieved.”
The call for private-sector participation comes as Zimbabwe seeks to attract investment into infrastructure that can generate returns through agriculture, water supply, fisheries and energy.
Participants at the conference nevertheless raised concerns over the clarity of public-private partnership arrangements, particularly where private investors develop infrastructure that is eventually expected to be transferred to Government.
A clearer investment framework would be important for providing investors with certainty over how projects are managed and how ownership arrangements are handled.
For farmers, the development of irrigation infrastructure would provide greater certainty over production and reduce exposure to drought-related losses.
For government, the approach could allow existing public infrastructure to generate greater economic value.
Nazombe said increased investment was necessary to strengthen the country’s water security.
“We need to put more investment in that light so that our level of security is increased from what it currently is,” he said.
The strategy therefore shifts the focus from simply constructing more dams to maximising the productive potential of water infrastructure already available while ensuring new projects are designed as integrated economic systems.
Players in the agricultural sector are set to convene tomorrow for the opening of the National Agriculture Conference and Expo 2026, as the industry faces severe climate headwinds ahead of the upcoming summer cropping season.
Hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, in partnership with Africa Economic Development Strategies and the Agricultural Marketing Authority, the two-day event runs from 24 to 25 September under the theme Transforming Agriculture for Resilience, Investment, and Inclusive Growth.
The conference comes at a critical juncture for Zimbabwe’s economy. The agriculture sector accounts for roughly 10% of gross domestic product and provides livelihoods for over half of the national workforce.
The sector remains the foundation for industrial raw materials and foreign currency earnings via cash crops like tobacco and cotton.
However, recurring weather volatility, structural deficit import bills, and production deficits in major staples continue to weigh heavily on national fiscal buffers.
According to the Meteorological Services Department seasonal outlook, Zimbabwe faces a high probability of below-normal rainfall for the 2026/27 summer cropping season.
Driven by the El Niño weather phenomenon, rainfall deficits are projected to be most acute during the crucial October-to-December planting period, heightening dry-spell risks and threatening crop development.
The conference targets two primary structural policy outcomes, namely establishing a disruptive localisation strategy to eliminate Zimbabwe’s US$2 billion agricultural import bill, and deploying a transformative growth strategy to position the country as a regional food hub.
Delegates, policymakers, and private investors are expected to deliberate on climate-smart financing, irrigation infrastructure development, drought-resilient seed technologies, and localized supply-chain strategies to mitigate the impact of the projected drought.
The upcoming National Agriculture Conference and Expo (NACE) 2026 discussions will be dominated by severe climate threats and El Niño mitigation strategies, following a grim seasonal forecast issued by the Meteorological Services Department (MSD).
Hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development in collaboration with the Agricultural Marketing Authority and Africa Economic Development Strategies, the two-day high-level conference takes place from September 24 to 25, 2026, at the Diamond Conference Centre at the University of Zimbabwe.
The focus on climate adaptation comes as the MSD’s 2026/27 Seasonal Climate Outlook forewarns of widespread below-normal rainfall, driven by a persisting El Niño phase and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole.
The weather agency reported an increased probability of below-normal rainfall nationwide from October to December 2026.
While southern and western regions may see normal-to-below-normal totals between January and March 2027, the remainder of the country will remain trapped in below-normal conditions.
According to the MSD, the upcoming farming season is projected to mirror the historic dry spells of the 2015/16 and 2023/24 analogue seasons, characterised by a widespread failure of the seasonal onset and erratic rain distribution.
In response to the climate outlook, conference deliberations will align directly with the Ministry of Agriculture’s strategic drought mitigation pillars designed under the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy.
The strategic pillars centre on enhancing the Strategic Grain Reserve, accelerating climate-smart production and irrigation development, expanding agricultural mechanisation, incentivising cereal production, strengthening rural livestock and horticulture resilience, and expanding agricultural insurance and financing models.
Delegates will focus on operationalising the government’s climate-proofing initiatives, including 100 percent adoption of the Pfumvudza/Intwasa conservation agriculture model matched strictly to agro-ecological zones, alongside rapid expansion under the Accelerated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Plan.
Running under the theme “Transforming Agriculture for Resilience, Investment, and Inclusive Growth,” the conference will also see the presentation of the State of the Agricultural Sector Study.
Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Dr Anxious Masuka says agriculture must serve as the primary catalyst for industrialisation and broader macroeconomic expansion.
Speaking during a high-level ministerial panel at the recent Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference and Expo 2026, Dr Masuka underscored that sustainable economic growth remains intrinsically tied to performance in the primary sector.
“Agriculture is a causal co-factor and multiplier effect on the rest of the economy. Other than providing the raw materials and fuel that keep us healthy, a healthy nation will be more productive. If we get agriculture right, we are likely to get every other sector and value chain right,” Dr Masuka said.
The government is prioritising structural reforms designed to expand the agricultural sector’s economic footprint under the second phase of the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy.
“Within the Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2026-2030, we want to create a US$15.8 billion sector from the current US$13 billion or so, and we can only do this if we work together,” he said.
Dr Masuka noted that recurrent climate-induced disruptions pose the single greatest threat to sector productivity and national food security, necessitating deliberate structural adaptations across all farming scales.
“Climate change is the biggest threat that we see in agriculture, and our adaptive and mitigation response is to have a climate-smart agriculture sector sufficiently resilient to withstand the episodic shocks that are caused by droughts. Droughts now visit us every three to four years, more often than in the past,” Dr Masuka said.
With meteorological assessments pointing toward heightened climate risks, the government has instituted targeted interventions across six foundational pillars to insulate domestic production.
“For this season, 2026/2027, there is a 100% probability that we will have an El Niño, the magnitude of which we do not know at this stage. But if we plan for the worst and hope for the best, government has come up with a very robust plan anchored on six pillars,” Dr Masuka said.
He outlined these interventions as an enhanced strategic grain reserve, climate-smart agricultural production, livestock drought mitigation, a revamped financing architecture for agriculture, an updated import management regime, and enhanced early warning coordination and capacity building.
To achieve these targets, he said the agriculture ministry is implementing five overarching guiding principles across the sector.
“The first one is that agriculture must be a business everywhere, irrespective of scale. The second one is climate-smart agriculture at the household level through the sustainable intensive conservation agriculture model, Pfumvudza/Intwasa, and at the national level through increased irrigation development.
“The third is value addition. The fourth is a systems or ecosystem approach. Agriculture alone is not the enterprise on a farm, there are so many other enablers, and in the ministry, we track about 22 enablers including power, finance, logistics, land, and much more,” Dr Masuka said.
Highlighting the final principle, Dr Masuka stated that the ultimate policy objective extends beyond traditional primary output toward complete industrial integration.
“The fifth and perhaps most important principle embedded in the strategy is that Zimbabwe does not yearn to become a breadbasket of anyone anymore. Zimbabwe must emerge by 2030 as an agro-industrial hub,” Dr Masuka said.
He said Zimbabwe is strategically positioned to serve as a thriving agro-industrial hub due to its central location in Southern Africa, strong logistics network, favourable climate, fertile soils, and exceptional talent.
The Minister said the core advantages form the foundation of the country’s push toward agro-industrialisation, which is key to achieving its vision of becoming an upper-middle-income nation.
The policy imperatives come ahead of the National Agriculture Conference and Expo, scheduled for September 24–25, 2026, at the Diamond Conference Centre at the University of Zimbabwe.
Stakeholders will gather to refine strategies aimed at curbing the nation’s agricultural import bill and strengthening regional value chains.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Zimbabwean authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on policies required to complete the second review under the country’s 10-month Staff-Monitored Programme.
The agreement follows a mission to Harare from September 7 to 17, 2026. The agreement marks a crucial milestone in Zimbabwe’s efforts to stabilise its macroeconomic environment and build a track record toward debt restructuring and re-engagement with international creditors.
Led by IMF mission chief Wojciech Maliszewski, the visiting team evaluated Zimbabwe’s economic performance and confirmed that program implementation through the end of June 2026 was robust.
All quantitative and indicative targets were met, with the exception of the indicative target on protected social and priority spending.
“Completion of the review would mark a further step in consolidating macroeconomic stability and building a track record toward arrears clearance, debt restructuring, and re-engagement with the international community,” the IMF said in a statement.
The Bretton Woods institution said Zimbabwe’s economy expanded by 8.3% in 2025 and is projected to grow by 5% in 2026.
Annual inflation fell to a low single-digit rate of 2.9% in August 2026, driven by tight monetary policy from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and relative exchange rate stability.
It added that the country’s current account is also expected to remain in surplus for the remainder of the year, bolstered by strong export receipts and remittance inflows.
Economic growth is expected to moderate to 3.5 percent in 2027 due to the anticipated impact of a super El Niño event, though the projection factors in planned government mitigation efforts.
The IMF noted that the outlook faces downside risks if climate conditions worsen or if government intervention measures experience delays.
The lender said fiscal performance through the end of June exceeded expectations as a result of robust revenue collection, offering the Treasury an opportunity to build fiscal buffers while adhering to its approved budget.
However, the IMF expressed concern over the missed target for protected social and priority spending.
“The shortfall in protected social and priority spending remains a significant concern,” the IMF said.
“The missed target underscores the need to improve cash planning and budget execution so that approved resources reach priority programs and vulnerable households in a timely manner.”
On the monetary side, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has maintained a tight monetary policy stance to keep inflation low and contain foreign exchange market volatility.
The central bank has advanced the rollout of an electronic foreign exchange trading platform to enhance transparency and is developing a comprehensive strategy to further liberalise the currency market, strengthen monetary operations, and reform its foreign exchange intervention framework.
The IMF highlighted structural advances in public financial and debt management, including bringing US dollar payments within the public financial management system and finalising a framework for liability management operations.
Progress was also cited in governance initiatives, including the preparation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2 and the publication of financial statements for the Mutapa Investment Fund.
The Cabinet has approved a comprehensive six-pillar drought mitigation plan, a development that is expected to feature prominently at the National Agriculture Conference and Expo (NACE) 2026 under the theme Climate Resilience.
The government’s mitigation strategy includes the enhancement of the Strategic Grain Reserve, accelerated grain imports, and the establishment of an integrated financing mechanism aimed at safeguarding food security and supporting vulnerable communities during the anticipated drought period.
The measures align closely with the growing national conversation around climate-smart agriculture and disaster preparedness, making climate resilience one of the most relevant discussion themes at NACE 2026.
Agricultural experts, policymakers, financiers and industry stakeholders attending the conference are expected to deliberate on practical strategies for building resilience across the agricultural value chain.
The focus will be on ensuring that farmers are equipped to withstand climate variability through improved access to drought-tolerant seed varieties, irrigation infrastructure, climate information services and sustainable financing solutions.
The Cabinet-approved plan reflects a broader shift towards proactive rather than reactive responses to climate threats.
By strengthening grain reserves and securing import arrangements ahead of time, government aims to cushion communities from potential food shortages while stabilising agricultural markets.
The integrated financing mechanism is also expected to attract significant attention at NACE 2026, particularly as stakeholders explore innovative funding models that enable farmers to invest in resilience-building technologies and practices.
Access to affordable finance remains a critical factor in helping producers adapt to changing weather patterns and maintain productivity during challenging seasons.
Climate resilience has become increasingly important for Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector, which remains highly dependent on rainfall.
Successive droughts linked to climate change and El Niño conditions have highlighted the urgent need for robust preparedness measures that protect both livelihoods and national food security.
At NACE 2026, discussions are likely to centre on how government policy, private sector investment and farmer-led innovation can work together to create a more resilient agricultural economy.
The conference will provide a platform for sharing experiences and solutions that can help the sector navigate future climate risks while sustaining growth and productivity.
With Cabinet’s six-pillar drought mitigation plan now in place, NACE 2026 is expected to showcase how Zimbabwe is positioning itself to confront climate challenges head-on, turning resilience into a cornerstone of agricultural development.
Kundai Gorejena
On July 23 to 24, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, in partnership with Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS) and ZimTrade, hosted the Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference and Expo (ZICE).
Attention now turns to the upcoming National Agriculture Conference and Expo (NACE), which provides an important opportunity to take that conversation into the agricultural sector.
Agriculture is not merely a supplier of raw materials to the industrial economy. It is a central pillar of Zimbabwe’s economy and livelihoods. Around 70-80% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods, while the sector supplies approximately 63% of the raw materials required by manufacturers and contributes around 30% of the country’s total export earnings (ZIDA; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade).
Although agriculture’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) has declined over the years as mining and services have expanded more rapidly, the sector recorded the fastest growth of 27.9% in 2025, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency.
Therefore, when President Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke about import substitution during his official opening of ZICE, this highlighted that agriculture should not be an afterthought. A sector capable of such a significant recovery clearly has the potential to drive import substitution through increased local production. The challenge is to ensure that production, procurement and processing are deliberately integrated, rather than operating in isolation.
What Zimbabwe still imports
According to the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) data, Zimbabwe imported over 1.14 million tonnes of maize grain between April 2025 and March 2026 valued at close to US$401 million. Although this represented a 35.6% improvement compared with the previous year, reflecting a better harvest, it still meant that almost US$400 million was spent importing a crop in which Zimbabwe has historically achieved self-sufficiency.
Wheat imports have also remained significant, increasing from approximately 258,151 tonnes in 2022-2023 to more than 380,951 tonnes in 2024-2025. The challenge extends beyond grain.
Government’s Agricultural Food System and Rural Transformation Strategy (2026-2030) notes that as consumer diets shift away from maize towards more diversified staples, pasta imports increased by 362% and rice imports by 237% between 2019 and 2024. Rice is now the fourth biggest starch staple in the country, after maize, wheat and traditional grains.
Then there’s cooking oil. Zimbabwe spends roughly US$323 million a year importing vegetable and animal oils, including crude soya and vegetable oil from South Africa and Zambia. At the same time, the country exports raw, unprocessed soya beans that could supply much of this domestic demand if they were crushed and refined locally. Increasing soya production from around 94,000 tonnes to approximately 300,00 tonnes would go a long way towards closing this gap.
The broader point is simple: every tonne of maize, wheat, pasta, rice, or cooking oil imported represents money that could otherwise support a local mill, processor, packaging plant, logistics company or farmer. Import substitution, therefore, is not simply about reducing imports. It is about retaining more value within Zimbabwe by connecting farmers to processors, manufacturers, distributors and consumers.
The policy groundwork is already there
One thing that is often overlooked is that Zimbabwe is not starting from zero. Statutory Instrument 87 of 2025 already calls on processors and millers to progressively source grain and oilseeds locally, while levies collected under the framework are channelled into an Agricultural Revolving Fund. According to the government, approximately US$5.7 million has already been raised through these levies, with around US$3.2 million invested in irrigation across 850 hectares. This intervention is particularly timely given the anticipated El Niño risk for the 2026/27 period.
On the industrial side, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s Local Content Strategy 2026-2035 links local procurement to job creation and skills development, framing “Make Local, Buy Local, Consume Local” as a national campaign rather than a slogan confined to manufacturing.
Buy Zimbabwe has gone further by advocating a minimum 50% local-content threshold in public procurement. This is particularly important as Zimbabwe positions itself to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), where compliance with rules of origin will be critical to ensuring that locally assembled products qualify for preferential market access.
The government has also begun validating sector-specific local content thresholds under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2 2026-2030), which targets a production-led and value-driven economy anchored in industrialisation and local manufacturing.
On the procurement side, the launch of the Zimbabwe Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems Report 2026 at the inaugural Southern Africa Public Procurement Forum signals a broader effort to make public procurement more transparent and competitive. Effective implementation will be critical to ensuring that local suppliers have a fair opportunity to compete for state contracts.
For NACE, therefore, the task is not to develop another policy statement. It is to translate existing policies into clear, measurable, sector-specific commitments. For example:
These are the practical questions that can turn policy into measurable outcomes.
Where the value chain evidence is already working
Zimbabwe does not need to debate whether local value-chain development can work. Recent results provide evidence that it can done.
Avocado exports increased by 166.5% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. This demonstrates the potential of Zimbabwean horticulture to compete in regional and international markets when production, value chains, market linkages and regulation are aligned.
At the macroeconomic level, Zimbabwe recorded four consecutive months of trade surpluses in early 2026, with tobacco among the major contributors. The 2024/25 tobacco crop reportedly increased to approximately 352 million kilograms, generating more than US$1.1 billion in export earnings.
Import substitution and export growth should not be treated as competing priorities. The same investments in irrigation, processing, domestic markets, quality standards and logistics that enable Zimbabwe to replace import greater export market share in avocados, tobacco and other value-added agricultural products. The objective should therefore be to build competitive domestic value chains capable of serving both the local market and export markets.
Why public procurement is the lever, not just the symbol
Public procurement deserves greater emphasis because government is Zimbabwe’s largest and most predictable institutional buyer. If ministries, parastatals, defence institutions, schools and hospitals commit to prioritising locally grown grain, locally milled flour, locally packaged food and locally processed proteins, the impact could extend well beyond the immediate purchase. Such procurement could:
This is the logic behind Buy Zimbabwe’s local-content agenda: procurement can become the bridge between agricultural production, industrialisation, employment and skills development.
But local procurement must also be accompanied by competitive pricing, consistent quality, reliable supply and transparent procurement systems. Buying local should not mean accepting poor quality or uncompetitive prices; rather, it should create the market certainty and incentives necessary for local producers to become more efficient, competitive and capable of meeting institutional demand.
Conclusion
Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector has demonstrated significant growth and resilience in recent years. Its export performance shows that internationally competitive agricultural value chains are possible, while the government has established levies, local-content strategies and procurement-reform frameworks that provide an important policy foundation.
What remains is execution, coordination and accountability.
Zimbabwe must align what farmers produce, what processors can absorb, what manufacturers require and what public and private buyers are prepared to purchase. The objective should be to ensure that every tonne of maize, wheat, soya bean or horticultural produce grown in the country first strengthens a Zimbabwean value chain, a Zimbabwean processor, a Zimbabwean manufacturer and a Zimbabwean job.
The question for NACE is therefore not simply how much Zimbabwe can produce, but how effectively it can convert that production into domestic value. It is whether Zimbabwe can buy, process and consume more of what it produces locally, while simultaneously building the competitiveness required to export more value-added products.
That is the pathway from agricultural production to industrialisation: Buy Local. Process Local. Employ Local and, ultimately, Export Local.
Kundai Gorejena is a graduate trainee (economics) at AEDS
Zimbabwe’s economy grew by 3.1% in the second quarter of 2026, compared to 6.5% recorded in the first quarter of this year, with manufacturing, mining and quarrying remaining the biggest contributors, official data shows.
According to data presented by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), overall GDP at market prices expanded by 5.8% on a quarter-to-quarter basis, rebounding from a 3.5% contraction in the first quarter.
“The quarterly GDP figure for the second quarter of 2026 was ZiG457.3 billion. At constant prices, the quarterly GDP figure for the second quarter of 2026 was ZiG 412.4 billion,” ZimStat said.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, the statistics agency said the top five industries that grew in the second quarter of 2026 were mining and quarrying at 33.3%, accommodation and food services at 5.1%, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities at 4.7%, wholesale and retail trade at 4.5%, and agriculture, fishing and forestry at 4.0%.
Despite the strong sequential surge in mining activity following a 23.2% contraction in the first quarter, the sector experienced significant headwinds when evaluated against the previous year.
On a year-on-year basis, mining and quarrying contracted by 8.9%, pulling down overall annual economic growth.
Conversely, the water supply, sewerage, and waste management sector registered the highest annual growth rate in the second quarter at 12.2%.
Human health and social work activities followed with a 9.8% year-on-year expansion, while real estate activities grew by 8.2%, transportation and storage by 7.8%, and agriculture, fishing, and forestry by 7.3%.
In terms of sectoral contributions to total output at constant prices, manufacturing remained the single largest contributor to GDP in the second quarter at 16.2%.
Mining and quarrying accounted for 15.4% of output, followed by agriculture, fishing, and forestry at 12.0%, and wholesale and retail trade at 10.8%.
Financial and insurance activities contributed 6.1% to total economic output during the period.
Quarter-on-quarter contractions were recorded in professional, scientific, and technical activities, which fell by 4.0%, financial and insurance activities, which declined by 3.6%, and activities of households as employers, down by 2.5%.
On an annual basis, administrative and support service activities contracted by 4.1%, while public administration and defence contracted by 0.8%.
Zimbabwe is targeting climate resilience as a primary anchor for its economic transformation and food security agenda amid mounting climate threats and global economic pressures, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said.
Addressing delegates at the 14th Annual National Agribusiness Conference in Harare, Dr Chiwenga said national planning for the upcoming 2026/27 summer cropping season is being organised around the threat of a severe global climate anomaly, compounding existing geopolitical pressures.
The conference, convened under the theme “Agricultural Productivity as a Catalyst for Agribusiness Growth and Food Security,” focused on climate risk management, structural value-chain integration, and economic adaptation.
Central to the Vice President’s address was the convergence of severe external risks threatening Southern Africa’s food balance.
Beyond ongoing geopolitical tensions that have elevated international fuel and fertiliser prices while disrupting regional supply chains, global climate models forecast a Super El Niño.
The weather pattern is expected to bring severe heat and extended dry spells to Southern Africa, raising the threat of widespread drought.
“The outlook for the 2026/27 summer season represents a critical stress test for Zimbabwe’s agricultural resilience,” Vice President Dr Chiwenga said.
“Our planning is driven by the convergence of two major threats – the current geopolitical tensions elevating fuel and fertiliser prices and disrupting their supply, and another of a forecasted Super El Niño.”
Highlighting scientific warnings on the severity of the pattern, Dr Chiwenga noted that researchers have referred to the upcoming event as a “Godzilla El Niño” due to its unusual intensity.
While the global climate pattern is projected to trigger heavy flooding and storms in parts of the Western Hemisphere, it threatens Southern Africa with extreme heat, prolonged dry spells, and widespread drought conditions.
“The anticipated impacts include disruptions to food and water supplies and the likelihood of severe drought conditions, with no country able to assist another or acquire shortfalls from external supplementation,” Dr Chiwenga said, urging an immediate shift from reactive drought response to proactive structural adaptation.
“Therefore, it is imperative to adopt proactive measures in water conservation and food security planning.”
To mitigate these severe hydrological and production risks, the government outlined a multi-pronged intervention strategy.
Central measures include the rapid rehabilitation of national borehole networks, accelerated expansion of irrigation infrastructure, and an enforced crop diversification shift toward drought-tolerant, climate-resilient commodities including sorghum, millet, and sunflower.
Zimbabwe’s climate response is backed by a financial and structural framework designed to insulate domestic value chains.
Under the strategy, the government is mobilising an Integrated Financing Architecture combining Treasury allocations, private sector capital, and targeted credit through the National Enhanced Agricultural Productivity Scheme.
Additional operational priorities include strengthening the Strategic Grain Reserve, implementing early warning and early-action systems, ensuring input affordability, and executing livestock drought mitigation protocols to prevent herd depletion.
The climate emergency interventions align directly with the targets set under the National Development Strategy 2, alongside the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2.
Beyond immediate climate shielding, Chiwenga noted that Zimbabwe must execute a structural transition away from raw, primary production toward a commercially integrated, value-added model.
“We must move from a predominantly production-focused agricultural sector to a highly commercially integrated and value-added across the entire agricultural economy,” Dr Chiwenga said.
“In light of these considerations, we must begin to adopt an agro-business approach anchored in the ‘Farm to Fork’ concept, often referred to as ‘Farm to Table Policy.”
This policy framework targets localised processing at the farm level, supported by centralised aggregation for domestic industrial supply and regional export markets.
Dr Chiwenga called on smallholder and commercial farmers to form farmer-owned processing cooperatives and directly engage in value addition at the source to eliminate intermediary transaction costs.
To facilitate this integration, the government plans to roll out specialised Agro-Industrial Parks aimed at bridging the gap between primary producers, commercial processors, and institutional financiers.
Highlighting demographic imperatives, Dr Chiwenga added that driving long-term agricultural modernisation requires targeted financial and technical inclusion for women and youth, positioning them as primary drivers of technology adoption, commercial farming, and rural industrialisation.
Speaking at the same event, Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Dr Anxious Masuka said the southern African nation must leverage its agricultural resources, strategic location and human capital to transition into a regional agro-industrial hub.
“Zimbabwe clearly must move and transition from being a breadbasket to becoming the agro-industrial hub, serving the region, taking advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area, but going beyond so that we can begin to create the Zimbabwe we want,” he said.
He added that the country’s agricultural transformation should extend beyond increasing primary production to developing competitive value chains capable of supplying regional and international markets with processed and value-added products.
Agriculture remains the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy, supplying over 60% of the raw materials required by the domestic manufacturing sector and sustaining the livelihoods of more than 60% of the national population.
Beyond its critical role in rural livelihoods, the sector contributes approximately 12 to 15% to national GDP and serves as the country’s second-largest generator of foreign exchange earnings, primarily driven by tobacco, horticulture, and cotton exports.
Gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery (Fidelity) reached 31.17 tonnes during the first eight months of 2026, driven primarily by strong output from small-scale miners.
According to official figures from Fidelity through August 2026, small-scale producers delivered 22.38 tonnes, while primary large-scale producers delivered 8.78 tonnes.
Driven by strong global prices and continued capital injection into operations, total gold output for 2026 is expected to hit 55.6 tonnes, surpassing the original 50-tonne target.
The sector remains Zimbabwe’s single largest foreign currency earner, contributing more than 60% of total mining export revenues.
Artisanal and small-scale miners continue to account for the lion’s share of deliveries, regularly supplying up to three-quarters of all formal gold sold to the state-backed refinery.
This record-setting momentum builds directly on last year’s historical high of 46.73 tonnes, up from 36.48 tonnes in 2024.
Production has been further boosted by record-high international spot prices driven by global safe-haven demand, alongside spot-linked US dollar payouts and streamlined royalty frameworks that have successfully incentivised producers to channel their bullion into formal government clearing.
