Chiwenga urges farmers to embrace farm-to-fork model

Farmers should embrace an agro-business model anchored on the "Farm-to-Fork" concept to drive value addition, strengthen market linkages and improve returns, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has said.

The Vice President said the approach would allow farmers to move beyond primary production and participate more actively in value chains generated from their produce, as Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to build a competitive and sustainable agricultural sector.

Speaking at the 14th Annual National Agribusiness Conference (ANAC) held on the sidelines of the ongoing 116th Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS) show, VP Chiwenga said value creation should begin at farm level.

The conference was held under the theme, "Agricultural productivity as a catalyst for agribusiness growth and food security."

Chiwenga urged farmers to process their produce at source to cut unnecessary costs and retain a greater share of the value within farming communities.

"We must begin to adopt an agro-business approach anchored in the ‘Farm-to-Fork' concept, often referred to as ‘Farm-to-Table Policy'," he said.

"Under this model, the whole value is promoted across the entire agricultural economy at the farm. Then, these farmers' produce is aggregated for both local and export markets."

The Vice President called on farmers to take a more active role in agricultural processing and beneficiation.

"I therefore call upon farmers to actively participate in the agriculture processing value chain, by producing and processing their products at source in order to reduce unnecessary costs," he said.

He said Government would continue supporting production and processing initiatives aimed at increasing output, improving market access and strengthening agricultural value chains.

Farmer-owned cooperatives, Chiwenga said, could play a critical role by pooling resources to establish and own crop-processing facilities, in line with Government's value-addition and rural industrialisation agenda.

The push for greater farm-level processing comes as Zimbabwe seeks to move agriculture beyond primary production and increase the sector's contribution to industrialisation, exports and economic growth.

Chiwenga said closer collaboration between farmers and processors, financiers, technology providers, transporters, exporters and retailers would create opportunities for higher-value production while reducing post-harvest losses and transaction costs.

He said a productive agricultural sector was essential for ensuring food security, stabilising prices, generating household incomes and building resilience against economic and climate-related shocks.

"The success of our agricultural strategy depends on coordination and active participation by all stakeholders across the agricultural business ecosystem," he said.

Government interventions will continue to focus on improving agricultural productivity through the expansion and rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure, increasing access to affordable agricultural finance and accelerating mechanisation and modernisation.

Chiwenga said Government would also strengthen agricultural research, innovation and technology adoption, while enhancing extension services to equip farmers with technical knowledge to improve productivity.

He added that localised production on farms would remain a priority, alongside efforts to strengthen aggregation, value addition and beneficiation across agricultural value chains.

Meanwhile, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Development Minister Anxious Masuka said Zimbabwe should leverage its agricultural resources, strategic location and human capital to position itself as a regional agro-industrial hub.

Masuka said such a transition would be key to unlocking higher productivity, expanding agribusiness and increasing Zimbabwe's contribution to regional food security.

"Zimbabwe clearly must move and transition from becoming a breadbasket to becoming the agro-industrial hub, serving the region, taking advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area, but going beyond so that we can begin to create the Zimbabwe we want," Masuka said.

"If we get productivity right, agribusiness growth and food security will follow."

He said Zimbabwe's strategic location in Southern Africa, coupled with its diverse agro-ecological regions, fertile soils and favourable climatic conditions, provided a strong foundation for producing a wide range of crops and livestock.

Masuka said these advantages could be leveraged to accelerate Zimbabwe's transition towards a more integrated and competitive agro-industrial economy.