Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare
Agriculture Reporter
PLUGGING sesame smuggling loopholes, minimising tomato losses and improving market linkages can unlock millions of dollars in value and enhance food security and rural livelihoods, experts have said.
This comes as Zimbabwe is facing an annual shortage of about 800 000 tonnes of tomatoes while losing millions of dollars in potential export earnings through sesame smuggling.
This has been attributed to the lack of proper infrastructure, informal markets and low productivity undermining the agriculture sector.
The concerns emerged during a recent stakeholder engagement on agricultural value chains held recently in Bulawayo under the Support Towards the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy Project (STOSAR II), a €10 million European Union-funded initiative implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in partnership with the SADC Secretariat.
Launched in September last year, the four-year programme seeks to strengthen agricultural systems across the region by improving information sharing, reinforcing protection against transboundary pests and diseases, enhancing food and nutrition security monitoring and ensuring that smallholder farmers, women and youth benefit from new market opportunities.
Stakeholders said such interventions could help Zimbabwe reduce major losses currently affecting key crops such as tomatoes and sesame.
Economist Professor Gift Mugano said Zimbabwe requires about 1,2 million tonnes of tomatoes annually, but production stands between 300 000 and 400 000 tonnes, leaving a gap of about 800 000 tonnes.
He said the shortfall was being worsened by post-harvest losses, with close to 60 percent of tomatoes going to waste because of poor storage systems, transport bottlenecks and lack of cold chain infrastructure.
“We need investment in cold rooms, storage facilities and transport systems. Without that, farmers will continue losing produce before it reaches the market,” said Prof Mugano.
He said the tomato deficit also represented a major business opportunity for investors willing to support logistics, agro-processing and organised markets.
Manicaland Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services’ provincial director, Mr Nhamo Mudada, said farmers were also losing value long before produce reached the market due to poor seed varieties, weak disease management systems and inadequate production support.
He said tomato growers often harvested at the same time, creating gluts that forced them to sell below production cost.
“When supply floods the market, buyers dictate prices. Farmers are left with no bargaining power and many sell at a loss,” he said.
Mr Mudada said losses of between 30 and 60 percent were common in perishable crops such as tomatoes because of rotting linked to poor handling and lack of refrigeration.
“Contract farming models that include technical support and guaranteed markets are needed to protect smallholder farmers,” he said.
Meanwhile, concerns were also raised over growing sesame leakages through informal exports.
Country director for Sustainable Agriculture Technology (SAT), Mr Brian Saunders, said Zimbabwe was losing valuable foreign currency as significant volumes of sesame were crossing borders outside formal channels.
“There is a lot of sesame smuggling taking place. We need stronger systems to curb this quickly because the country is losing foreign currency,” he said.
Mr Saunders said formal exports had shown strong potential, with 246 tonnes exported in 2023, including 151 tonnes to Japan, one of the world’s strictest markets.
In 2025, a further 236 tonnes were exported to Turkey, with additional volumes sold into Mozambique.
He, however, said a 19 percent tariff imposed by Mozambique on Zimbabwean sesame was reducing competitiveness and depressing prices offered to local farmers.
Agricultural Marketing Authority chief executive, Mrs Alice Mapfiza, said authorities were moving to formalise agricultural markets by registering farmers, buyers, contractors and processors.
“We want all market players registered so that farmers know who they are dealing with and can trade in a transparent environment,” said Mrs Mapfiza.
FAO Sustainable Soil Management Project coordinator Mr Obert Maminimini said the STOSAR II programme aligned with FAO’s “four betters” framework of better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life for all.
“With the support of this project, all the critical areas of agricultural transformation are being addressed,” he said.
Food and Nutrition Council facilitator Ms Mavis Dembedza said stronger markets should also improve diets, noting that the 2025 Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee survey found 23,8 percent of children under five in rural households were stunted.
