Online Reporter
Obert Chifamba
Agri-Insight
MUTARE Grain Marketing Board depot was the place to be recently for advocates of sustainable agriculture when President Mnangagwa commissioned smart grain silos and launched the 2026-2030 Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy.
The commissioning of the GMB smart silos signifies a major step towards enhancing food security in Zimbabwe by reducing post-harvest losses, increasing strategic grain reserves, and stabilising food prices. For the broader economy, this project supports industrialisation, rural development, and the goal of becoming a regional food distribution hub.
The AI technology enables real-time monitoring of grain, ensuring better quality and significantly cutting down on spoilage. By commissioning the silos, the Government was essentially demonstrating its commitment food security in line with Sustainable Development Goal 1, that speaks against hunger and poverty.
On the one hand, the adoption of smart silos signals a huge leap towards reducing post-harvest losses. The AI-powered monitoring of temperature, humidity, and moisture helps ensure optimal storage conditions, which drastically reduces grain spoilage and loss.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Africa records post-harvest losses of between 30 and 50 percent of its agricultural produce, with estimates from the World Bank Open Knowledge Repository placing the figure around 37 percent for the region between production and consumption.
Zimbabwe is also included in the above estimates, which makes Government’s decision to adopt AI technology in preserving harvests a masterstroke.
Of course, these losses are attributed to a range of factors, including poor handling, inadequate storage facilities, and transportation issues.
Usually, losses incurred during storage tend to disrupt national planning given that they in most cases remain unnoticed until the stored produce is about to be used, sold or moved to another place.
Also, this smart silo project by the Government aims to double the national strategic grain reserve, from 750 000 to 1.5 million tonnes, providing a buffer for up to three years and protecting the country against drought.
This will also play into the drive to cut down on imports, as there will be no need for Zimbabwe to look outside its borders for supplementary food in the event of a bad season.
In other words, this move is part of the Government’s grand plan of reducing nutrition insecurity as well as economic deprivation especially for those households that have not given in to the contemporary shifting food preferences sweeping across the globe. These shifting food preferences have seen some households dumping crops like maize for potatoes or rice.
One observation is that the smart silo project will enable GMB to manage stored grain more efficiently compared to what used to happen when some grain would be reported spoiled by various agents during storage. It also supports the Government’s goals of ensuring farmers are paid fairly and have access to markets.
It is an undeniable fact that the initiative feeds into Government’s broader effort to modernise agriculture through digitalisation and the integration of advanced technology. Among the ripple effects to be churned out from the roll out of this initiative is economic stability that comes with steady food supplies and that will cascade to cushioning citizens against price volatility. These new silos will contribute to the country’s overall economic stability.
And once the country increases its storage capacity, it will be better positioned to act as the regional food distribution hub, as recognised by organisations like the World Food Programme. For some time, the country has been seized with reclaiming its “Bread basket of Africa” status, hence the adoption of the smart silos will definitely add to the momentum to achieve the dream.
Simply put, the smart silos are part of the Second Republic’s strategy to industrialise and develop rural areas, integrating the agriculture sector with broader industrial value chains to create jobs and reduce poverty.
It is exciting to note that the commissioning of the silos coincided with the launch of the 2026–2030 Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy, which outlines a comprehensive plan for the sector’s growth. It, therefore, represents a significant advancement for the country’s agriculture sector and has broader implications for the economy.
One good thing about smart technologies like these is that they enable real-time monitoring of storage conditions (temperature, humidity), thereby improving grain quality in the process. After all, who wants to consume grain that is of poor quality during a time like now when it is easier to achieve good quality than fail to?
The good about automation in handling and managing grains is that the practice helps reduce labour costs and increases operational efficiency. With better storage solutions, Zimbabwe can maintain a more consistent supply of staple foods and effectively enhance food security for its population.
The Government’s ongoing modernisation of agriculture infrastructure can attract both local and foreign investment in the sector. Investors naturally want to be part of projects that have guaranteed security, as well as the promise of unrestrained growth.
The smart silo initiative will also take care of the problem on unemployment that has for long stalked the country’s corridors of development.
It will obviously create job opportunities for the country’s most productive population demographic — the youths. These new technologies and systems, will without doubt, create jobs, both in the construction and operation of the silos.
It also goes without saying that the project will bring training and technology transfers while spawning training programmes that in the end equip farmers with necessary skills for modern agriculture. It will also address sustainability issues that used to haunt the agriculture sector through reduced environmental impacts.
Smart storage solutions are often known to come with environmentally friendly technologies that can help reduce the agriculture sector’s carbon footprint. This also comes with the inevitable integration of smart technologies that promote the use of agricultural best practices, contributing to sustainable farming initiatives.
Urban agriculture is also fast emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the smart silos, as the farmers will have easy access to nearby storage. Improved storage facilities will allow urban farmers to access broader markets and this will come with a telling impact on urban food security that has in recent times been treated as an after-thought by most authorities with rural communities naturally stealing the limelight.
While all agricultural regions can benefit over time, these areas—especially those with significant maize production—are likely to experience immediate advantages from the increased storage capacity, reduced losses, and enhanced efficiency that smart silos provide.
Generally, modernising agricultural production and value chains not only enhances productivity and economic growth, but also contributes to sustainability and food security. By leveraging technology and innovative practices, the agriculture sector can better meet the challenges of the future
