Nqobile Bhebhe [email protected]
AGRICULTURE contributed 2,2 percentage points to Zimbabwe’s 8,3 percent economic growth last year, underscoring its role in driving industrialisation and the country’s ambition to become a regional economic hub by 2030, Agriculture Minister Dr Anxious Masuka has said.
Speaking during the 2027 Pre-Budget Seminar in Bulawayo, Dr Masuka said agriculture’s contribution extended beyond production, with the sector generating multiplier effects across the wider economy.
“Agriculture is a collateral multiplier effects on the rest of the economy in the 8.3% growth we saw last year 2.2 percentage points were contributed by agriculture,” he said.
“If you add what it causes it is much, much more and that is the ministry’s mandate and in terms of the principles, agriculture is a business irrespective of scale and of course.”
Dr Masuka said Government’s economic transformation agenda was anchored on leveraging Zimbabwe’s geographical advantages to position the country as a regional agricultural hub by 2030.
“Zimbabwe must emerge by 2030 as the agriculture hub of the region by a deed of good geography,” he said.
Agriculture supports industrialisation by supplying raw materials to agro-processing industries, stimulating manufacturing and trade, and increasing demand for transport, logistics and other services. Strengthening production and agricultural value chains is therefore central to efforts to create jobs and improve economic competitiveness.
The minister also expressed optimism about the country’s grain production prospects, saying figures recorded so far pointed to another record harvest.
“In fact, this year, we are expecting over 670,000 metric tons already,” he said.
“This morning, we had 568,000 metric tons.
“So we are on our way to another record. So we must stay the course.”
The anticipated increase in grain production comes as Government continues to prioritise food security and strengthen agriculture’s contribution to economic growth.
Dr Masuka’s remarks come as ministries and other stakeholders submit their funding requirements for the 2027 National Budget, with the agriculture sector seeking resources to sustain production and support economic development.
Agriculture’s performance remains critical to the country’s broader economic outlook as Government pursues industrialisation, investment mobilisation and its 2030 development ambitions.
