Online Reporter
Theseus Shambare in VICTORIA FALLS
Zimbabwe is targeting to grow exports of agro-processed products from 22 percent in 2023 to 40 percent by 2030.
This comes as Government moves to retain more value from local produce.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Deputy Minister Davis Marapira said the target reflected the need to move away from exporting largely unprocessed commodities and strengthen the country’s agricultural-industrial base.
Addressing delegates at the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) Zimbabwe Global Summit in Victoria Falls, Deputy Minister Marapira said value addition was central to the transformation of the agricultural sector.
“The major message is value addition. Zimbabwe should increasingly capture more value from the agricultural commodities that it produces,” he said.
Deputy Minister Marapira said the Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy II and the national development framework identified agro-processing and value addition as important components of agricultural transformation. We must increasingly process, package and brand our agricultural products before they leave Zimbabwe,” he said.
Deputy Minister Marapira said the push for value addition would create opportunities across several industries linked to agriculture.
“This creates opportunities in agro-processing, food manufacturing, cold-chain infrastructure, packaging, warehousing, logistics, horticultural processing, livestock processing and agricultural input manufacturing,” he said.
Agricultural beneficiation, the Deputy Minister said could help strengthen the connection between farming and industrialisation.
Meanwhile, the horticulture sector has an even more ambitious processing target, with the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan seeking to have 60 percent of horticultural exports by value processed by 2030.
Deputy Minister Marapira said horticulture provided a clear example of the opportunities available through greater value addition.
“Our objective must therefore be to develop agricultural value chains in which value is created at every stage — from production, aggregation and processing to distribution and export. Achieving the targets requires stronger participation by farmers, businesses, financial institutions and other stakeholders across agricultural value chains.
“Government recognises that agricultural transformation cannot be financed by the public sector alone. Private capital, financial institutions, development partners and farmers must all play complementary roles,” he said.
Deputy Minister Marapira said private-sector participation could bring capital, technology, management expertise, market access and processing capacity into agricultural value chains.
He said smallholder farmers should also benefit from the expansion of value addition rather than being excluded from commercialisation.
“Instead, we need business models that integrate farmers into formal value chains through aggregation, contract farming, out-grower arrangements and structured markets,” he said.
Deputy Minister Marapira said increased processing could also contribute to employment creation, particularly for young people.
“The agricultural economy requires more than farmers. There are opportunities for young people in mechanisation services, digital agriculture, logistics, processing, marketing, financial services, input supply and agricultural technology.
“The transformation of agriculture should ultimately result in greater production, processing, exports and employment. Let us therefore build agricultural value chains that produce more, process more, export more and create more opportunities for Zimbabweans,” Deputy Minister Marapira said.
