By Kirsty Chibovero
Harare – Zimbabwe has set itself the challenge of transitioning more than 1.8 million smallholder farmers into commercial value chains by expanding agro-processing’s contribution to the manufacturing sector.
The transformation will require farmers to move beyond selling raw produce and participate in value addition, processing, packaging and organised markets. This is expected to raise household incomes, create rural employment and strengthen domestic manufacturing.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the Second Republic was establishing Special Agro-Processing Zones across the country to ensure that agricultural production supports industrial development in all 10 provinces.
“We must move from raw soyabeans to cooking oil and stock feeds; raw milk to cheese and yoghurt among other dairy products; fruits to juice and concentrates; tobacco leaf to cigarettes; cattle to leather and packaged meat,” President Mnangagwa said.
He stressed that Zimbabwe could no longer depend on exporting or marketing agricultural commodities in their unprocessed form.
“All agriculture produce must be processed locally.”
The President said responsibility for growing the agro-processing sector should not be left to large companies alone. Value addition must begin in villages and expand through rural industrialisation frameworks, enabling smallholder farmers to become suppliers, processors and commercial partners.
Local processing could create new markets for crops, livestock and horticultural produce while generating opportunities in transport, storage, packaging, cold-chain services and retail.
By locating agro-processing closer to production areas, Zimbabwe can reduce post-harvest losses, retain more value within farming communities and establish stronger links between agriculture and manufacturing.
The proposed provincial agro-processing zones could therefore become an important bridge between smallholder production and a more inclusive industrial economy.
