Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare in BULAWAYO
ZIMBABWE is ramping up the use of data systems, quality compliance and market linkages to boost agricultural exports under a new regional programme aimed at improving trade competitiveness.
The push is anchored on the Support Towards the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy Project (STOSAR II) programme, a European Union-funded initiative implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that is strengthening agricultural information systems, food safety monitoring and trade readiness across the SADC region.
The initiative came into focus at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) during a side event themed: From Data to Markets: Strengthening Zimbabwe’s Agricultural Competitiveness.
Officials said STOSAR II seeks to harmonise agricultural data systems across SADC, enabling countries to share information on production, trade flows and food security in real time, while improving early warning systems for droughts, pests and diseases.
The programme also supports upgrades of laboratories, quarantine systems and standards infrastructure to help Zimbabwean producers meet strict sanitary and phytosanitary requirements in export markets, including the European Union.
Speaking during a panel discussion, Agricultural Marketing Authority chief executive Mrs Alice Mapfiza said smallholder farmers remain disadvantaged because many operate in isolation.
“So, for smallholder farmers, I think their biggest challenge is they operate as individuals,” she said.
“So, we need to find ways of making sure that 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 farmer aggregation was critical in enabling producers to bargain better, meet required supply volumes and reduce transaction costs.
Mrs Mapfiza said another major obstacle was failure to meet the quality and standards demanded by formal markets.
“Another factor which is affecting our smallholder farmers is the issue of quality and standards compliance,” she said.
“I don’t think we can talk about trade if we don’t talk about compliance.”
She said many producers still viewed compliance as a cost rather than an enabler of market access.
“Our major challenge right now is we see compliance as a cost and not as an enabler,” she said.
“But for us to be able to access the markets that have been spoken about by the EU, we need to make sure that our farmers know the standards. If we do not know those standards, they become non-tariff barriers.”
European union programme manager Mr Martin Zhou said Zimbabwe and the wider SADC region already benefit from strong trade arrangements with Europe 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,” said Mr Zhou.
The STOSAR II project also focuses on harmonising Agricultural Information Management Systems across SADC, allowing countries to share production, trade and food security data more efficiently.
Officials say this will strengthen decision-making, improve early warning systems and enable coordinated responses to shocks such as droughts, pests and disease outbreaks.
For Zimbabwe, the renewed emphasis on data-driven agriculture comes as the Government pushes to industrialise value chains, expand exports and integrate smallholder farmers into profitable domestic and regional markets.
Experts say the future of exports will depend not only on production volumes, but on information systems, traceability, standards and stronger market linkages.
