Online Reporter
Nyasha Simbisai
Agriculture Correspondent
AGRICULTURAL extension officers in Mashonaland East Province recently launched the Madhumeni/Abalimisi for Agricultural Transformation and Economic Development initiative to add impetus to the province’s agricultural transformation.
The move seeks to align grassroots agricultural initiatives with Government programmes, as well as the Zanu PF ideology.
Priorities for Madhumeni/Abalimisi include promoting climate-smart and modern farming methods, encouraging value addition and agro-processing, empowering women and youth to embrace agriculture as a business, strengthening cooperative farming models and improving access to markets.
The organisation’s national chairperson, Cde Peter Nyeredzi, thanked President Mnangagwa and his Government for creating an enabling environment for grassroots initiatives to thrive and contribute meaningfully to national development.
“Popularly known as ‘Madhumeni/Abalimisi for ED’, the initiative was born out of the realisation that agriculture must be transformed from a subsistence activity into a sustainable economic driver,” he said.
“It exists to complement Government programmes by mobilising farmers, capacitating them with knowledge and supporting their participation across the entire agricultural value chain.
“The initiative is fully aligned with the Zanu PF ideology, which places land, empowerment and productivity at the centre of economic liberation.
“While the land reform programme delivered land to the people, Madhumeni/Abalimisi for ED’s focus is to ensure that the land produces wealth, guarantees food security and restores dignity.”
He described Mashonaland East as a strategic province in the national development agenda – endowed with fertile soils and hardworking farming communities with immense potential to become a powerhouse of agricultural production.
Cde Nyeredzi said they work closely with traditional leaders, party structures, youth, women and farmers to unlock this potential.
He added that organised, informed and supported farmers become a powerful force for economic development, noting that agriculture had moved beyond survival to innovation, income generation and nation-building.
Representing the Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Advocate Itayi Ndudzo, district coordinating committee chairperson Mr Edson Makina underscored agriculture’s central role in national prosperity and its alignment with NDS2, food and nutrition security.
“Agriculture contributes significantly to the gross domestic product, creates millions of jobs and underpins food security. The initiatives being implemented by Madhumeni/Abalimisi, which include Pfumvudza/Intwasa have uplifted rural livelihoods,” he said.
Minister Ndudzo said Zanu PF had consistently championed policies that support farmers, from fair trade practices to funding agricultural infrastructure, laying a firm foundation for sustainable growth through investment in research, innovation, smallholder support and climate-resilient practices.
Seke district agricultural business advisory officer, Mr Hudson Mutsvangwa, who was representing the provincial agriculture director, Mr Calisto Masiwa, said the launch was significant for agricultural business advisory officers.
He said aligning farmers with the ruling party ideology, which informed Government policy, strengthened coordination between the state and producers, enhancing understanding and implementation of national agricultural programmes.
Seke district farmer, Mrs Winnet Manyere, welcomed the launch, saying that while farmers had long worked productively with agricultural business advisory officers, Madhumeni/Abalimisi for ED had provided the missing link by unifying farmers under one political and developmental vision.
She said the alignment achieved through the initiative would further enhance productivity.
