World Bank applauds Zimbabwe’s agricultural reforms

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

The World Bank (WB) has commended the Government of Zimbabwe for accelerating ease-of-doing-business reforms in the agriculture sector, a move widely seen as a catalyst for unlocking significant private investment into the country.

The endorsement by the Bretton Woods institution follows a series of targeted policy interventions by Harare aimed at repositioning agriculture as a high-value investment hub anchored on productivity, value addition, and export competitiveness.

Speaking during a high-level courtesy visit to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri, World Bank Senior Private Sector Specialist Sophia Muradyan acknowledged the strong and longstanding partnership between the Bank and the Ministry, while applauding the near-completion of the reform programme.

“From our perspective, we wanted to engage with you and seek guidance on the next phase of our work in the agriculture sector. Ensuring that agriculture is productive, resilient, and responsive to national demand remains a key priority,” Muradyan said.

She revealed that a team of WB trade experts is expected in Zimbabwe by late April to assess two of the country’s critical trade corridors, Beitbridge to Chirundu, and the eastern route linking Forbes and Machipanda.

“The objective is to evaluate how private sector investment can be catalysed along these strategic routes. Mapping and accurately capturing agricultural economic activity across these corridors will be crucial,” she said.

The development comes at a time when government is rolling out a comprehensive nationwide agricultural mapping exercise designed to align district-level production potential with industrial processing capacity, an initiative aimed at eliminating inefficiencies and curbing so-called “blind investments.”

The programme forms a central pillar of Zimbabwe’s broader Vision 2030 strategy, shifting focus from fragmented planning to a data-driven, spatially coordinated agricultural economy.

Professor Jiri said the Ministry is now prioritising a district-based data model to identify unique production strengths and corresponding processing opportunities across the country.

“We are mapping our country to clearly define the production potential of each district. As part of our development agenda, we are not only identifying what each district can produce, but also what it can process,” Jiri said.

He stressed that such spatial intelligence is critical for industrial efficiency and cost optimisation.

Using soya bean production as an example, Jiri noted that processing facilities must be strategically located in high-output regions, primarily in the northern parts of the country, rather than in low-production zones, to minimise logistics costs and maximise value retention.

Under the government’s Value-Sharing Approach, several key agricultural value chains are being prioritised for revival and expansion, including coffee, horticulture, fisheries, and cold chain infrastructure.

“While the coffee value chain previously faced significant setbacks, current policy alignment and favourable climatic conditions provide a solid foundation for its resurgence,” said Jiri.

He added that fisheries development is shifting toward inland aquaculture to improve nutrition outcomes and reduce reliance on imports, while investment in cold chain systems is expected to plug longstanding post-harvest losses.

Crucially, irrigation development has emerged as a cornerstone of the country’s agricultural transformation strategy, as authorities seek to de-risk production in the face of climate volatility.

“If we anchor our response in irrigation, we effectively remove production risk. That then allows us to focus on downstream activities such as processing, market access, and trade,” Jiri said.

The government is also establishing a dedicated agricultural investment trust aimed at guaranteeing capital flows into rural areas, reinforcing agriculture’s role as a primary engine for inclusive economic growth.