The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, Professor Obert Jiri, has challenged agricultural parastatals and institutions to strengthen their commercial operations, expand local industries and accelerate value addition to unlock greater economic benefits from Zimbabwe’s agricultural resources.
Addressing delegates on the second day of the Ministry’s 2027 Strategic Planning Workshop in Bulawayo, Prof Jiri said agricultural transformation should extend beyond increasing production to contributing meaningfully to national development.
“Agricultural transformation should extend beyond increasing production to building efficient, profitable and self-sustaining institutions capable of contributing meaningfully to national development,” he said.
He called for stronger coordination between the Ministry and its parastatals, urging the entities to attract investment, mobilise resources and improve their commercial performance while remaining responsive to their national mandates.
Using the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (COTTCO) and SILO as examples, Prof Jiri emphasised the need to balance commercial viability with the responsibility to support farmers, safeguard food security and ensure the availability of affordable basic commodities.
The Permanent Secretary said sustained engagement between the Ministry, the Mutapa Investment Fund and individual agricultural entities was necessary to align business strategies with national priorities and improve institutional performance.
Commenting on fertiliser production, Prof Jiri called for accelerated localisation of manufacturing, saying Zimbabwe could retain more resources within the economy by reducing its reliance on imported agricultural inputs.
He identified local manufacturers, including the Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company (ZFC), as strategic partners in meeting national fertiliser requirements, noting that increased domestic production would strengthen local industry, reduce import dependence and create opportunities for investment and employment.
He also stressed the need for prudent management of agricultural imports to protect local producers and sustain domestic markets.
Turning to the tobacco industry, Prof Jiri urged stakeholders to accelerate value addition and expand local processing capacity to ensure the country derives greater economic returns from the crop.
He said increased domestic processing would create employment, boost export earnings and allow Zimbabwe to capture more value before tobacco products reach international markets. He also called for innovative approaches to modernising the tobacco marketing and purchasing framework.
Prof Jiri further highlighted the importance of partnerships with development agencies and other stakeholders in mobilising technical expertise, investment and financing to expand processing capacity, facilitate technology transfer and strengthen agricultural value chains.
Such collaboration, he said, would complement national efforts to shift from exporting raw agricultural commodities towards producing higher-value goods.
The workshop’s deliberations come as Zimbabwe seeks to transform agriculture into a key driver of industrialisation, investment and sustainable economic growth.
Strengthening agricultural institutions, expanding domestic manufacturing and accelerating value addition will be critical to reducing import dependence, creating jobs, increasing export earnings and ensuring that the country derives greater economic returns from its agricultural resources in pursuit of Vision 2030.
