Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera, Specialist Writer – Agribusiness
THE review of agricultural levies, licences, fees and permits will improve the ease of doing business, reduce production costs and drive accelerated growth of the agricultural sector, experts have revealed.
This comes as stakeholders have called for the timely implementation of the reforms so that the sector can remain viable locally, regionally and internationally.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion announced that the Government had approved comprehensive reforms to reduce the cost of doing business in the agriculture sector.
Among the reforms are standardisation of local authority charges, abolition of grain movement permits, removal of fish harvest fees, removal of import licensing requirements for agricultural equipment spares, rationalisation of licences, permits and fees and targeted support to enhance sector viability.
The cotton buying point levy was reduced from US$800 to US$200 while regulatory fees affecting fertiliser producers and horticultural exporters among others were also reviewed downwards.
Professor Mthuli Ncube said the reforms would reduce the cost of production across agricultural value chains, improve competitiveness of Zimbabwean agricultural products, enhance national food security, stimulate investment and formal sector participation and strengthen agriculture’s contribution to economic growth and employment.
An agriculture expert and Livestock and Meat Advisory Council (LMAC) executive administrator, Dr Reneth Mano said livestock welcomed the move and urged responsible authorities to ensure the reforms were gazetted and implemented on time.
“We hope the livestock reforms will be gazetted and implemented.
“Our appeal now is for the responsible authorities to bring all the ease of doing business regulatory reforms already agreed and passed by Cabinet into effect without any delays through the issuance of Executive Orders,” he said.
Dr Mano believes this urgent policy action would allow the industry to immediately start translating the ease of doing business reforms into cost savings to unlock industrial growth and enhance the competitiveness of domestic industries against imports from neighbouring Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.
“The latest notice ought to pave the way for the finance ministry, as fiscal authority to actually gazette all the changes to specific SIs under the different Acts en masse lawfully under the all-encompassing Finance Act.
“Such an approach could expedite the process of gazetting the changes by reducing the workload in the Attorney General (AG) office,” he said.
Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF) national chairman, Mr Edward Warambwa, said the planned reforms are a significant step towards creating a more favourable business environment.
“Last year, we welcomed the Government’s decision to reduce fees and eliminate regulatory duplications that had hindered the competitiveness of our dairy farmers. While this position is yet to be officially enacted, it represents a significant step towards creating a more favourable business environment for dairy producers.
“The reduction in taxes will significantly alleviate the financial burden faced by dairy farmers. This reduction in costs allows them to invest more in their operations, enhancing production capabilities and adopting advanced agricultural technologies.
“With improved operational efficiency, in the long run our farmers have the potential to become more competitive both in local markets and for exports.
“The reduction in compliance costs related to feed production will lead to lower feed prices, improved feed quality, and enhanced availability. This, in turn, is likely to boost productivity, creating a more resilient dairy industry in Zimbabwe,” he said.
The agricultural sector grew by 4,1 percent in 2020, 17,5 percent in 2021, 6,2 percent in 2022 and 6,3 percent in 2023.
As a result of the El Nino induced drought, agriculture experienced a negative growth of 18 percent in 2024, but rebounded to 24 percent in 2025.
In September last year, the Government reviewed business regulations for livestock, dairy and stockfeed sub-sectors to enhance the investment climate, encourage domestic production and attract foreign direct investment in fulfilment of 2025 mid-term budget announcements.
A total of 96 regulatory fees in the livestock, dairy and stock feed sectors will be eliminated or significantly reduced to enhance ease of doing business.
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has since taken the lead and issued Statutory Instrument (SI) 41 of 2026, which has abolished or reduced some fees that apply to the livestock sector.
Among the abolished fees are butchery and fish mongering within a retail shop, carcass inspection, livestock movement clearance, cattle levy, dairy permit and generator levy.
