Sharon Jiyamwa
Online Reporter
GOVERNMENT is targeting 35 000 villages under a new tractor mechanisation programme aimed at boosting rural agricultural productivity, with 25-horsepower tractors and farming implements set to be made available through bank-mediated loans.
The initiative is expected to strengthen food production and rural businesses as Zimbabwe prepares for the 2026/27 summer cropping season amid forecasts of below-normal rainfall.
Speaking during a pre-handover visit to the Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Hatcliffe today, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said the programme would extend mechanisation to communities that had previously been excluded from major agricultural equipment financing schemes.
He said mechanisation has played a significant role in Zimbabwe’s agricultural transformation under President Mnangagwa, contributing to improved food security and record wheat production since 2023.
Zimbabwe has since attained self-sufficiency in soft wheat, partly due to the use of tractors and combine harvesters.
However, existing financing facilities had largely targeted A2 farmers and large-scale estates, leaving many rural communities without access to mechanised farming equipment.
“Sixty-two percent of our population, 9,2 million people, reside in rural areas, and they too have been yearning for mechanisation of Pfumvudza and for more mechanised transport for their manure and much more,” Dr Masuka said.
Under the new facility, successful village business units will be linked to financial institutions to access tractors and attachments of their choice, with repayment periods ranging from five to seven years.
The programme will also target schools and youth business units, creating opportunities for communities to use agricultural machinery commercially.
Dr Masuka said the initiative built on the Presidential Rural Development Programme, under which 6 071 boreholes had been drilled, resulting in the establishment of 2 058 village business units.
Most of the units were now operational and commercialised, providing a foundation for expanding agricultural mechanisation at community level.
The minister said the initiative was intended to transform rural communities from recipients of Government assistance into active participants in economic development.
“For once and under the Second Republic, villagers, my mother, my father, have become investment cases rather than just mere recipients of Government social interventions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Government says it is better prepared for the 2026/27 summer cropping season, with most maize seed already available and the Presidential Inputs Scheme having been launched in Chivi last week.
The Meteorological Services Department has forecast below-normal rainfall throughout the season, prompting Government to intensify climate-smart agricultural production under the President’s six-pillar strategy.
Under the climate-smart production pillar, Government is targeting one million hectares under Pfumvudza/Intwasa, equivalent to 16 million plots.
Each beneficiary is expected to establish at least three plots, adhering to the programme’s principles, including the application of organic matter, liming and mulching, to improve soil moisture retention and crop performance.
The Government is targeting three million rural beneficiaries, with an additional 500 000 peri-urban households expected to receive inputs to support cultivation in available open spaces.
The inputs package will include maize seed and traditional grains, with beneficiaries expected to choose between sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet for their traditional grain plots.
Dr Masuka said the inputs programme was ahead of previous years, with provincial launches expected to be conducted by Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution before October 31.
He urged farmers and rural communities not to panic over the rainfall forecast but to use the information to plan their agricultural activities and adopt appropriate climate-smart practices.
At the commercial level, the Government is accelerating irrigation development to cushion agricultural production against the anticipated drought.
Despite the anticipated dry conditions, the country is targeting cereal production of 1,6 million tonnes, supported by irrigation expansion and other climate-smart agricultural interventions.
The mechanisation and irrigation initiatives are part of broader efforts to improve agricultural productivity, strengthen rural livelihoods and safeguard national food security.
