Banks channel US$200m into agric sector

LIVINGSTONE  MARUFU

Zimbabwean banks have injected approximately US$200m to support the 2024/2025 summer cropping season.

Despite agriculture being the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy, the sector has struggled due to chronic underfunding and uncertainties around land ownership.

While banks have historically committed around US$500m annually to agriculture, less than half of those funds have been utilised—mainly because farmers lack title deeds, which limits their ability to use land as collateral.

Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Minister Dr. Anxious Masuka acknowledged the critical role of the financial sector in agricultural growth.

“As of January 31, 2025, the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe indicated funding of ZWG852.970 million and US$163.12 million for the 2024/2025 season,” Dr. Masuka said.

For the previous season, total funding was estimated at US$1.6bn with the private sector contributing US$960m and the government covering the remaining 40%. This blended financing model—combining government and private capital—has become the cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s agricultural strategy.

Government support primarily came through the Presidential Input Support Programme, which targeted over 1.8 million households to support the production of cereals, oilseeds, and legumes.

The programme reached a total of 3.5m beneficiaries. The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) Joint Venture Programme supported a significant portion of the targeted hectarage, while the National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme (NEAPS)—financed by AFC, CBZ, and NMB—covered the remaining hectarage under commercial farming initiatives.

These interventions aim to scale up the production of key crops, with a specific target of increasing cereal output from 750,000 tonnes to over 3.2m tonnes. Oilseed production, particularly from cotton, sunflower, and soyabean, is also expected to rise as part of the broader effort to enhance food security and reduce reliance on imports.

Encouragingly, maize production is projected to reach 2.2 million tonnes this season, comfortably above the national requirement of 1.8 million tonnes. This anticipated bumper harvest has been attributed to favorable weather conditions, with most parts of the country receiving normal to above-normal rainfall.

The increased availability of irrigable land has also played a pivotal role in boosting yields. The government has prioritized irrigation infrastructure development, with a target of expanding functional irrigable land from just over 200,000 hectares to 496,000 hectares by 2025.

As Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to restore its agricultural productivity, the renewed collaboration between the government and financial institutions offers a promising foundation. However, stakeholders continue to call for a sustainable resolution to land tenure uncertainties, which remain a major obstacle to unlocking the sector’s full potential.