Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare in ZHOMBE
ZIMBABWE is on course to achieving sustainable national food security, with Parliament expressing confidence that the country’s strengthened grain production model and strategic partnerships under the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) will safeguard the nation against future hunger.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development made the assessment today after touring ARDA Fairacres Estate in Zhombe under Midlands Province as part of an eight-day nationwide oversight visit to ARDA estates and supported farms.
Portfolio Committee chairperson Hon Felix Maburutse said the committee had been encouraged by the level of production and the support being extended to farmers through ARDA’s joint venture model.
“Our farmers, even the small-scale farmers, are crucial to the Government because they make up the majority.
“Therefore, once they are empowered and recognised — receiving technical support from ARDA — it ensures that their yield increases significantly,” he said.
“Consequently, this helps make the nation’s Strategic Grain Reserve robust. We can assure the nation that food security is within reach.”
Hon Maburutse said the collaboration between ARDA and farmers is demonstrating that Zimbabwe had the capacity to meet its food requirements through increased utilisation of productive agricultural land.
“Through these joint ventures, coupled with what ARDA is independently achieving, it demonstrates that as a country, we will not face hunger as long as people continue utilising the agricultural land available through ARDA,” he said.
ARDA chief executive officer Mr Tinotenda Mhiko said the authority’s transformation into the National Food Security Agency had shifted the country’s approach from reacting to droughts to preparing for them through sustained investment in production.
“The observations by the Portfolio Committee reinforce the critical role ARDA is playing as the National Food Security Agency,” he said.
“Our mandate goes beyond producing grain; it is about creating a resilient agricultural ecosystem where farmers, communities and the nation can withstand climate shocks and guarantee food availability.”
Mr Mhiko said ARDA had already surpassed its target of delivering 150 000 metric tonnes of grain to the Strategic Grain Reserve from the previous summer cropping season and was targeting another 150 000 metric tonnes from the current winter wheat crop.
A further 150 000 metric tonnes is expected from the forthcoming summer cropping season as part of efforts to build a strategic national grain buffer ahead of the anticipated El Niño-induced season.
He said ARDA’s summer production plan included placing at least 75 000 hectares under irrigated maize, while farmers in drier regions would focus on traditional grains such as sorghum and millet, which are better suited to changing climatic conditions.
Mr Mhiko said the authority was also expanding climate-smart seed production while strengthening farmer support through technical expertise, production assistance and innovative financing.
“Currently, about 32 percent of our production is directly financed by ARDA, while the remainder is being unlocked through bank guarantees, allowing more farmers to participate in productive agriculture,” he said.
He said technology was increasingly driving agricultural productivity, with ARDA adopting precision agriculture, digital monitoring systems, irrigation automation and data-driven farming to maximise yields.
Mr Mhiko said the authority plans to expand irrigation infrastructure to 25 000 hectares by 2030, reducing dependence on rainfall and strengthening Zimbabwe’s resilience to climate change.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee is expected to continue its nationwide assessment of ARDA estates and supported farms as it evaluates the authority’s contribution to national food security, rural industrialisation and Vision 2030.
