Online Reporter
Theseus Shambare recently in BULAWAYO
Smallholder farmers should form stronger production clusters capable of meeting the scale, consistency and quality demanded by modern buyers if they are to participate on the emerging regional and international export markets.
With over 80 percent of the country’s agricultural production anchored in smallholder farming, analysts warn that operating in isolation continue to limit smallholder farmers’ ability to fully benefit from growing trade opportunities.
According to agriculture experts, fragmentation remained one of the most persistent structural weaknesses in the sector.
Speaking during the Support Towards the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy Project (STOSAR II) High-Level Policy Dialogue on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) yesterday, Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) chief executive, Mrs Alice Mapfiza said disorganised production systems were still excluding smallholder farmers from lucrative formal markets.
“For smallholder farmers, I think their biggest challenge is they operate as individuals,” she said.
“So, we need to find ways of making sure they are not fragmented. We need to make sure that they are aggregated and clustered somehow, so that they have the advantage of numbers.”
She said clustering farmers into organised groups would enable them to consolidate volumes, improve bargaining power, reduce transaction costs and reliably meet supply commitments required by processors, retailers and export buyers.
Beyond organisation, Mrs Mapfiza said global markets were increasingly defined by strict compliance requirements that many smallholder farmers were still struggling to meet.
“Another factor which is affecting our smallholder farmers is the issue of quality and standards compliance. I do not think we can talk about trade if we do not talk about compliance,” she said.
She noted that many producers still view certification, grading and traceability systems as an added cost rather than a gateway to higher-value markets.
“Our major challenge right now is we see compliance as a cost and not as an enabler.
“To access the EU markets mentioned, our farmers must understand the required standards. Without that knowledge, those standards effectively become non-tariff barriers,” she said.
Agriculture Education, Research, Innovation and Specialist Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, chief director, Dr Dumisani Kutywayo, said Zimbabwe must shift from participation in trade to meaningful competition in premium export markets.
“The 2026 ZITF theme challenges us to look beyond our borders and beyond our traditional ways of working.
“It demands that we ask ourselves a difficult but essential question: Is Zimbabwean agriculture merely participating in regional trade, or is it truly competing?” he said
Dr Kutywayo said high-value horticultural and tree crop sectors such as avocados, citrus, blueberries and macadamia nuts presented strong opportunities for smallholder inclusion, provided farmers were supported through modern certification systems and structured value chains.
“Zimbabwe cannot export what we cannot certify. When our plant health systems are robust, our export consignments are not rejected at borders. That is competitiveness,” he said.
European union programme manager, Mr Martin Zhou said Zimbabwe and the wider SADC region was already benefiting from preferential access under the Economic Partnership Agreement.
“The agreement offers quota-free, duty-free access to the EU markets, which means that partners from the region can access the 500 million consumers of Europe without any duties,” he said.
Analysts noted that while market access existed, buyers in Europe and other premium destinations required reliable volumes, uniform quality, food safety compliance and consistent supply schedules — conditions more easily achieved through cooperatives, clusters and coordinated production systems.
Livestock expert, Dr Lawrence Dinginya said similar principles applied in the beef sector, where coordinated production systems and disease control were critical for export revival.
“Healthy livestock systems are essential for competitive beef exports,” he said.
The push for stronger farmer organisation forms part of the STOSAR II, an EU-funded initiative being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to strengthen agricultural information systems, food safety controls and trade readiness across the region
Bongani Ndlovu