By Conrad Mwanawashe

Government is developing the Agriculture Information Management System (AIMS) to monitor and manage agricultural activities which is expected to result in improved access to agricultural information and remote interaction between farm owners, managers and workers in real-time, among other positives.
Implementation of the Agriculture Information Management System is also expected to result in:
– Facilitating access to land and security of tenure;
– Increased access to affordable agriculture financing;
– Promoting effective agriculture knowledge, technology and innovation systems;
– Lowering costs of production;
– Increased income through reduced post-harvest losses and direct connection to agro-value chains.
The Smart Agriculture Programme falls under the Smart Zimbabwe Masterplan, under which the country is pursuing the Vision 2030 goal of a digital economy.
“Cabinet appreciates that in order to fully realize Zimbabwe’s immense agricultural production potential, there is need to increase yield, quality and agro-value chain efficiencies through innovation based on digital technologies. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) including sensor systems, internet connectivity and artificial intelligence will enable agricultural data to be collected timeously and informed decisions to be made,” according to Monica Mutsvangwa, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister in a post-cabinet statement.
In the 2021, government set aside ZW$ 200 million to support the ICT-related requirements of the AIMS project, including provision of gadgets and internet connectivity to all of the country’s agricultural institutions.
The key components of the Agriculture Information Management System include:
1. Assessment of Crop Threats – which provides an early warning system to avert agricultural disasters and the associated low productivity;
2. Land Information Management System – to record and analyse agricultural land use and allocation;
3. Water Information System – to enable efficient management of water resources, with all water bodies having been already mapped;
4. Inputs Supply System – comprising automated inputs and output management, land soil fertility mapping by remote sensing/mobile apps; and
5. Livestock, On Farm, Post-Harvest, Agro-Processing, and Marketing and Consumption Information Management Systems