Online Reporter
Lonster Mutata
Herald Correspondent
A modern brick house fitted with solar power and a borehole stands proudly in Chimedza, Ward 3 of Ndanga in Zaka District.
For Mrs Tsitsidzashe Wakurawarebwa and her family, the home is more than a place of shelter; it is tangible proof of how a humble sweet potato crop can transform lives.
Across Zaka District, sweet potatoes are increasingly becoming a source of wealth, food security and hope for thousands of smallholder farmers.
What was once regarded as a subsistence crop is now driving a quiet rural economic revolution, helping families improve their living standards and build sustainable livelihoods, in line with President Mnangagwa’s call.
Among those reaping the rewards is Mrs Wakurawarebwa, a member of the Sweet Potatoes for ED farmers’ group.
This season, she expanded production to two hectares and harvested an impressive 15 tonnes of sweet potatoes.
Although marketing is still underway, she has already earned more than US$3 000 from sales, with further income expected as she continues supplying the market.
“We have been growing sweet potatoes for several years now, and they have completely transformed our lives,” she said.
“We managed to build this house, furnish it, install solar power and drill a borehole using proceeds from sweet potato farming.
“Sending our children to good schools is no longer a challenge. Farming has proved to us that it is truly a business.”
Encouraged by her success, Mrs Wakurawarebwa now plans to venture into value addition to maximise returns from the crop.
“I encourage fellow women not to be lazy. Sweet potato production can change your life. We are a living testimony that farming can help families escape poverty,” she said.
Her story reflects a wider transformation taking place across Masvingo Province, where sweet potato production is expanding rapidly as more farmers embrace the crop for its strong returns, resilience and growing market opportunities.
Masvingo Provincial agriculture director Mr Caleb Mahoya described sweet potatoes as one of the province’s fastest-growing agricultural success stories.
“This is one of our major sweet potato farmers who cultivated two hectares this season and has already harvested and safely stored the crop,” he said.
“Sweet potato production is gaining significant momentum, particularly here in Zaka, which has become one of the province’s leading production areas.
“It is an important crop for food, nutrition and income security.”
Masvingo emerged as the country’s leading sweet potato-producing province last season, recording a 12 percent increase in production compared to the previous year.
The area under cultivation has expanded from 5 621 hectares to about 7 200 hectares this season, while approximately 90 000 farmers across the province are now producing the crop.
Mr Mahoya said sweet potatoes offer one of the easiest entry points into commercial agriculture because they require relatively low capital investment while delivering attractive returns.
“This is one of the lowest-hanging fruits in the attainment of Vision 2030 for our farmers. It is affordable, productive and suitable even for farmers with limited resources,” he said.
The crop’s importance is expected to grow further as the country prepares for the possibility of a Super El Niño season.
Unlike many crops that suffer severe losses during prolonged dry spells, sweet potatoes require adequate moisture mainly during establishment before becoming remarkably drought-tolerant.
“Even under drought conditions, yield losses are relatively low compared to many other crops. This makes sweet potatoes one of the most climate-smart enterprises available to our farmers,” said Mr Mahoya.
He noted that the crop aligns with Government efforts to promote climate-smart agriculture while strengthening household food, nutrition and income security.
Beyond fresh consumption, sweet potatoes are creating new economic opportunities through value addition.
The crop can be processed into crisps, flour, mahewu, starch and various industrial products, with buyers already travelling from different parts of the country to source produce from Zaka farmers.
Many farmers are preserving their harvests in underground storage pits, enabling them to supply the market continuously for up to six months after harvesting while taking advantage of favourable prices.
As production continues to rise, discussions are underway on establishing community-based processing enterprises that could further increase incomes and create employment opportunities.
Mr Mahoya attributed part of the province’s impressive growth to the Government’s Presidential Sweet Potato Vine Distribution Programme, which has improved farmers’ access to quality planting material.
“As Masvingo Province, we received about 4,24 million sweet potato vines, which have been distributed to farmers across our districts, including Zaka.
“These virus-free vines are highly productive and are playing an important role in increasing production and productivity,” he said.
For communities across Zaka, where agriculture remains the backbone of livelihoods, stories such as that of Mrs Wakurawarebwa are becoming powerful examples of what can be achieved when quality inputs, improved technologies and determined farmers come together.
In the fields of Chimedza, the harvest is yielding far more than sweet potatoes. It is producing better homes, educated children, clean water, renewable energy and renewed confidence that agriculture remains one of the surest pathways to rural prosperity.
For farmers like Mrs Wakurawarebwa, the humble sweet potato has become a crop of transformation, proving that farming can indeed change lives.
