Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare Zimpapers Correspondent
GOVERNMENT in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has intensified efforts to unlock Zimbabwe’s US$15.8 billion agriculture sector growth target through strengthened post-harvest management systems aimed at improving efficiency across the value chain.
Authorities say the strategy is central to reducing post-harvest losses, which have for years been estimated at up to 30 percent across key commodities, undermining gains from increased production and limiting farmer incomes.
As Zimbabwe advances its food security and food sovereignty agenda, officials say the focus is shifting beyond production to ensuring that what is harvested is efficiently stored, processed and taken to market.
This emerged at the launch of the National Post-Harvest Management Technical Working Group in Harare on Friday, a multi-stakeholder platform bringing together Government, development partners, the private sector, research institutions and farmers to coordinate interventions across agricultural value chains.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, Professor Obert Jiri, said the working group is a “strategic imperative” for transforming agriculture into a business-oriented sector.
He said Zimbabwe’s Agricultural Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy II targets a US$15.8 billion agriculture economy by 2030, anchored on increased output of key commodities including 3 million tonnes of maize, 797 000 tonnes of traditional grains and expanded horticultural and livestock production.
However, he said these targets can only be fully realised if post-harvest inefficiencies are addressed through coordinated national action.
“The challenge we have is that agriculture can no longer be viewed only from a production perspective. What is grown must be preserved, processed and profitably marketed,” said Prof Jiri.
He said the working group will coordinate interventions across cereals, horticulture, legumes, oilseeds, livestock and fisheries, with emphasis on storage infrastructure, cold chain systems, mechanisation and value addition.
Key interventions include solar drying technologies, improved threshing systems for traditional grains, mobile cold rooms, silos and aggregation centres aimed at reducing losses along the value chain.
High-value crops such as blueberries, citrus and potatoes are among those expected to benefit from improved cold chain and logistics systems, while grain value chains will gain from strengthened storage and handling capacity.
Beyond the new technical platform, Government highlighted ongoing and regional initiatives already contributing to post-harvest management reforms.
These include the Zimbabwe Emergency Food Production Project, supported by the African Development Bank, which has facilitated the distribution of silos, threshers and combine harvesters to farmers across the country.
Another key intervention is the Zimbabwe–Mozambique Agriculture Value Chain Project, implemented in collaboration with the Government of Mozambique and supported by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The programme is strengthening cold chain infrastructure and formalising cross-border trade in high-value commodities such as macadamia, sesame and tomatoes.
Officials cited a broader initiative aimed at reducing food loss and waste while leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which focuses on policy reform, technology adoption, skills development and improved access to finance for agro-enterprises.
FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho, Dr Patrice Talla, said post-harvest losses remain one of the most critical constraints to agricultural transformation.
“Significant post-harvest losses remain a challenge… These losses reduce farmers’ income, constrain food systems and constrain opportunities for agro-industrial development,” he said.
He said reducing losses is “the most cost-effective way to improve food security in the country, but also to improve nutrition, rural livelihoods and resilience in the agri-food system.”
Dr Talla said FAO-supported programmes, including emergency food production initiatives and cross-border value chain projects, are already demonstrating how improved storage, mechanisation and market linkages can reduce losses and boost productivity.
He said the new working group provides a structured platform for coordination, innovation and policy alignment across stakeholders.
“The success of Zimbabwe’s rural industrialisation agenda, including village, school and youth business units, will depend heavily on efficient post-harvest systems that reduce waste and improve market access,” he said.
The working group is expected to translate policy into costed, practical interventions aimed at improving competitiveness, reducing waste and expanding agro-processing opportunities across the agriculture sector.
