Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT is strengthening measures to safeguard national food security ahead of the projected El Niño weather phenomenon in the 2026/27 agricultural season, with the country expected to maintain a substantial strategic grain reserve following another strong harvest.
Zimbabwe is projected to record a strategic grain reserve surplus of between 550 945 tonnes and 964 945 tonnes following a successful 2025/26 summer cropping season.
Speaking at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda said grain stocks held by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) stood at 252 177 tonnes as of August 19, while deliveries during this marketing season were 126 percent higher than those from the same period last year.
“Cabinet notes with satisfaction that the increase in national maize output was driven by an increase in both productivity and hectarage, showing that initiatives under the Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2 are working as intended and targets are on course to be achieved,” he said.
The total area planted under maize increased by 8,2 percent from 1,81 million hectares in 2025 to 1,96 million hectares this year, while national production rose by 17,1 percent from 2,29 million tonnes to 2,68 million tonnes.
Minister Soda said winter wheat production was progressing well, with the planted area reaching 106 percent of the target, compared to 101 percent achieved during the same period last year.
He said barley had been planted on 7 013 hectares, while 243 850 tonnes of Irish potatoes were expected from the 9 000 hectares planted.
Tobacco production has also remained strong, with 358,4 million kilogrammes sold by August 18 at an average price of US$2,49 per kilogramme.
Minister Soda said cumulative tobacco exports reached 138,25 million kilogrammes by August 19, valued at US$791,85 million, representing a 39 percent increase in export volumes compared to the corresponding period last year.
Meanwhile, GMB had cleared all outstanding farmer payments for the 2024/25 marketing season, with mechanisms now in place to ensure timely payments for this season.
Responding to questions from journalists, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said Government remains committed to paying farmers as quickly as possible after grain deliveries, so they attend to obligations that they would have carried throughout the whole season.
He said authorities were exploring additional mechanisms to improve payment flows, including a proposed crop catchers’ buffer fund, warehouse receipt systems and arrangements that could enable farmers to offset certain utility bills against grain delivered to the GMB.
Government is also engaging financial institutions to allow farmers to use warehouse receipts as collateral for financing before receiving full payment for their grain.
“We are now negotiating with financial institutions that this asset called maize, now represented by the warehouse receipt, the farmer can actually borrow based on that without even receiving a payment upfront,” said Dr Masuka.
The measures come as authorities prepare for the possibility of adverse weather conditions linked to the anticipated El Niño phenomenon during the 2026/27 season. El Niño, characterised by abnormal warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, can disrupt rainfall patterns across Southern Africa and increase the likelihood of drought conditions.
Minister Masuka said Government had developed a comprehensive preparedness strategy based on lessons learnt from the severe drought experienced in 2024.
“One of the main pillars is an enhanced strategic grain reserve, where we aim to exit in a year at about 450 000 tonnes,” he said.
Minister Masuka said the reserve would enable Government to support vulnerable rural communities through social protection programmes while allowing the private sector to import maize where necessary for commercial milling and stockfeed requirements.
“We continue to monitor consumption; we continue to monitor supply, especially in the context of the predicted El Niño in 2026/27,” he said.
Minister Masuka said the Government will continue to track food supplies, consumption trends and weather developments to ensure the country remains adequately prepared for any climatic shocks.
