Online Reporter
Doris Mpala and Sharon Jiyamwa
THE Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) has called for market-driven agricultural production, improved storage infrastructure and efficient supply chains to strengthen food security and avert food crises.
Addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe 2026/27 Agricultural Season – A Whole-of-Value-Chain Preparedness Summit at the Harare Showgrounds today, AMA chief executive officer Alice Mapfiza said food security went beyond increasing agricultural output, requiring sustained access to safe, nutritious and affordable food.
The summit was hosted by Zimpapers and sponsered by SeedCo, Zimplow, Zimnat and Zinwa.
Speaking on agricultural marketing, food security, food crisis management, strategic reserves and supply chains, Ms Mapfiza said farmers needed to understand market requirements before planting to avoid producing commodities for which there were no ready buyers.
“Food security is a journey, not a way out. It is achieved when food is available, accessible, safe and nutritious, and when access is sustained over time,” she said.
Ms Mapfiza said increased agricultural production did not automatically translate into household food security, as people also needed the financial means and physical access to obtain food.
She said efficient agricultural markets were essential for linking farmers to consumers, processors and other buyers, while ensuring the consistent movement of produce from farms to markets.
“The question before planting should not only be what we can produce, but also what the market requires, when it is required and at what price,” she said.
AMA sits at the market–food security intersection, and its contribution to food security is principally through better functioning agricultural markets, under the Agricultural Marketing Authority Act [Chapter 18:24].
Ms Mapfiza said AMA played a central role in strengthening agricultural marketing through the provision of market information and statistics, promoting fair pricing, facilitating structured markets and enhancing quality assurance.
The authority also facilitated coordination among market players to improve decision-making and ensure agricultural commodities met the required standards.
Ms Mapfiza described AMA’s role as providing the regulatory framework, market linkages, contract farming oversight and intelligence that connect the value chain into a functional, resilient food system.
Key interventions highlighted included transparent price discovery, structured marketing through contract farming and credible off-take agreements, appropriate storage to prevent distress selling, value addition and processing, and diversified markets to absorb localised supply shocks.
She said the entire agricultural value chain, from production and aggregation to storage, processing, packaging and transportation, needed to operate efficiently to minimise post-harvest losses and improve market access.
Post-harvest management was described as integral to production, not an afterthought, with every lost tonne representing lost food, income and resilience. Weak infrastructure causes physical loss and value destruction across the chain, including rejection at market, spoilage, quality degradation, distress selling and complete physical loss of perishable cargo.
Farmers, she added, needed to understand buyers’ requirements, particularly regarding product quality, packaging and food safety, before embarking on production to reduce the risk of delays in securing markets.
Standards were presented as a market-access instrument: having a market is not sufficient if the product cannot meet the buyer’s requirements. Farmers should know the required variety, moisture content, grade and packaging before planting.
“Food security does not end at the farm. It is achieved when food reaches consumers consistently and efficiently,” she said.
Ms Mapfiza called for the expansion of structured agricultural markets and investment in storage infrastructure to ensure reliable food supplies and strengthen the management of strategic reserves.
She set out five priorities: strengthen market intelligence, expand structured markets, make storage bankable, protect reserve integrity, and focus on the household. It concluded that food security does not end at harvest; it is achieved when safe, nutritious food successfully moves from production, through the market, to the household—consistently, efficiently and affordably.
She said strengthening the links between agricultural production and marketing would ensure that food was not only produced in sufficient quantities but also reached consumers when and where it was needed.
