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President Mnangagwa secures ancestral land and launches Production Booster Kit in Mazowe
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President Dr ED Mnangagwa on Monday 25 August 2025, at Craigengower Farm in Mazowe, Mashonaland Central Province, presided over the National Launch of the Production Booster Kit Programme where he also consolidated the irreversible gains of the Land Reform Programme by handing over title deeds to 1,000 farmers. This legal milestone permanently secures ancestral land for Black Zimbabweans, correcting the colonial dispossession ushered in by Cecil John Rhodes through the Rudd Concession and other exploitative treaties dating back to 1896.
Addressing farmers, government officials, the diplomatic corps, and private sector leaders, the President said agriculture remains the bedrock of the Great Republic of Zimbabwe's march towards becoming an upper-middle-income society by 2030. He underscored that food security, sovereignty, and improved livelihoods will continue to be driven by climate-smart agriculture and the rural transformation strategy which has guided the agricultural sector from 2020 to 2025.
In his remarks, the Head of State celebrated the adoption of Pfumvudza/Intwasa conservation farming, which has been widely embraced across agro-ecological regions. He explained that the model has tripled maize and sorghum yields while enhancing household food security. At National level, irrigation expansion has been prioritised to withstand climate change, with the President confirming that irrigation coverage rose from 175,000 hectares in 2019 to 222,000 hectares in 2025 - a 27 percent increase, the fastest since Independence in 1980.
President Mnangagwa said that despite the El Niño-induced drought of 2023/2024, the Nation has reached yields of 1.8 million tons, matching food and feed requirements. "Well done, makorokoto. Congratulations," he told farmers. The target is to develop 496,000 hectares under irrigation by 2030, of which 350,000 hectares will be under summer cereal production.
Building on the private sector-led development thrust, the President recalled the Accelerated Irrigation Investment Conference of July 2024 which birthed the Irrigation Development Alliance. Projects for 37,500 hectares are already underway, supported by government guarantees and private funding. He invited more players to join the irrigation drive, stressing the role of local capacities in climate change resilience.
He further reminded the Nation that in 2024, his Government introduced transferable and bankable title deeds for A1 and A2 farmers, a reform that empowers beneficiaries to use land as collateral for mechanisation, production, and infrastructure. At Mazowe, the President handed over 1,000 such deeds, fortifying land ownership rights and fuelling rural industrialisation.
Turning to the newly launched Production Booster Kit Programme, the President announced that 10,000 A1 farmers will benefit under the first phase. Each will access loans of US$6,000 to irrigate between one and three hectares, with US$1.98 billion earmarked for the next decade and five banks already committed to extend additional working capital. The kits will also support smallholder tobacco farmers while anchoring localised procurement of equipment in the tobacco value chain.
To strengthen the Programme, Technical Service Centres will be set up in all 10 Provinces to provide tillage, extension, irrigation, mechanisation, harvesting, and monitoring services. Once fully operational, these measures are expected to raise A1 farmers' output to over 10 million tons of cereal grain annually, adding US$6.14 billion to agricultural GDP and generating US$1.59 billion in household disposable income.
President Mnangagwa, guided by the National development philosophy "Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatigwa nevene vayo / ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhulekelwe ngabanikazi balo," challenged farmers, youth, and women to embrace the opportunity to transform agriculture from subsistence to business. He said preparations for the 2025/2026 cropping season must intensify to maximise yield per hectare and fully utilise land.
Fresh from TICAD 7 in Japan, the President revealed that he had met with World Food Programme Head Mrs Cindy McCain, who expressed readiness to purchase grain from Zimbabwe for food-deficit countries. He urged citizens to seize the chance to produce not only for the Nation but also for regional and global markets.
Closing his address, President Mnangagwa commended stakeholders across the agricultural value chain for their commitment, saying the launch of the Production Booster Kit Programme marked an empowerment milestone towards Vision 2030. He declared the Programme officially launched, before blessing farmers and the Great Republic of Zimbabwe with his final words: "God bless you. God bless Zimbabwe. I thank you."
#Vision2030 #FoodSecurity #LandReform #Mazowe #ProductionBoosterKit
Addressing farmers, government officials, the diplomatic corps, and private sector leaders, the President said agriculture remains the bedrock of the Great Republic of Zimbabwe's march towards becoming an upper-middle-income society by 2030. He underscored that food security, sovereignty, and improved livelihoods will continue to be driven by climate-smart agriculture and the rural transformation strategy which has guided the agricultural sector from 2020 to 2025.
In his remarks, the Head of State celebrated the adoption of Pfumvudza/Intwasa conservation farming, which has been widely embraced across agro-ecological regions. He explained that the model has tripled maize and sorghum yields while enhancing household food security. At National level, irrigation expansion has been prioritised to withstand climate change, with the President confirming that irrigation coverage rose from 175,000 hectares in 2019 to 222,000 hectares in 2025 - a 27 percent increase, the fastest since Independence in 1980.
President Mnangagwa said that despite the El Niño-induced drought of 2023/2024, the Nation has reached yields of 1.8 million tons, matching food and feed requirements. "Well done, makorokoto. Congratulations," he told farmers. The target is to develop 496,000 hectares under irrigation by 2030, of which 350,000 hectares will be under summer cereal production.
Building on the private sector-led development thrust, the President recalled the Accelerated Irrigation Investment Conference of July 2024 which birthed the Irrigation Development Alliance. Projects for 37,500 hectares are already underway, supported by government guarantees and private funding. He invited more players to join the irrigation drive, stressing the role of local capacities in climate change resilience.
He further reminded the Nation that in 2024, his Government introduced transferable and bankable title deeds for A1 and A2 farmers, a reform that empowers beneficiaries to use land as collateral for mechanisation, production, and infrastructure. At Mazowe, the President handed over 1,000 such deeds, fortifying land ownership rights and fuelling rural industrialisation.
To strengthen the Programme, Technical Service Centres will be set up in all 10 Provinces to provide tillage, extension, irrigation, mechanisation, harvesting, and monitoring services. Once fully operational, these measures are expected to raise A1 farmers' output to over 10 million tons of cereal grain annually, adding US$6.14 billion to agricultural GDP and generating US$1.59 billion in household disposable income.
President Mnangagwa, guided by the National development philosophy "Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatigwa nevene vayo / ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhulekelwe ngabanikazi balo," challenged farmers, youth, and women to embrace the opportunity to transform agriculture from subsistence to business. He said preparations for the 2025/2026 cropping season must intensify to maximise yield per hectare and fully utilise land.
Fresh from TICAD 7 in Japan, the President revealed that he had met with World Food Programme Head Mrs Cindy McCain, who expressed readiness to purchase grain from Zimbabwe for food-deficit countries. He urged citizens to seize the chance to produce not only for the Nation but also for regional and global markets.
Closing his address, President Mnangagwa commended stakeholders across the agricultural value chain for their commitment, saying the launch of the Production Booster Kit Programme marked an empowerment milestone towards Vision 2030. He declared the Programme officially launched, before blessing farmers and the Great Republic of Zimbabwe with his final words: "God bless you. God bless Zimbabwe. I thank you."
#Vision2030 #FoodSecurity #LandReform #Mazowe #ProductionBoosterKit
Source - Maxwell Haitengeswinyika Teedzai
