Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2 (2026-2030).

The Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2 (AFSRTS2) 2026–2030 is a national multisectoral framework that serves as Zimbabwe’s agricultural development roadmap, building on the achievements of the AFSRTS 2020–2025. The strategy seeks to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of the agricultural sector through climate-smart and climate-proofed agricultural systems aimed at ensuring long-term food security and national food sovereignty. AFSRTS2 adopts a food systems approach that promotes integrated agricultural production, value addition and value chain development, while recognising the linkages between agricultural development, industrialisation, economic growth and the achievement of Vision 2030. The strategy also seeks to improve community nutrition and livelihoods by promoting sustainable food systems and inclusive rural transformation. These efforts are supported by strengthening land tenure security and improving land administration systems to enhance productivity and investment confidence. The Strategy is organized around 5 strategic impact areas (1) Food Security and Food Sovereignty; (2) Nutrition Security; (3) Improved livelihoods; (4) Agriculture-based and led economic growth; (5) Land and Tenure Security. By the end of the implementation period in 2030, the strategy envisions agriculture becoming a strong and dynamic anchor sector driving rural and urban livelihoods, accelerating socio-economic transformation and contributing significantly to Zimbabwe’s goal of becoming a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society.
The AFSRTS2 is arranged around the following 10 pillars (1) Enabling Policy, Regulatory and Coordination Environment focused on reviewing agricultural legislation to align with regional and global frameworks, establishing a robust monitoring and evaluation system, and creating an Extension Services Quality Assurance Framework to enhance accountability; (2) Sustainable Production and Productivity boosting the output and yield levels of crops, livestock, and fisheries to ensure national food security, nutrition security, and food sovereignty. This strategy aims to build a USD 15.8 billion agricultural industry by aligning 22 production enablers (such as seed, fertilizer, finance, and water management) and setting specific production targets across various agricultural commodities; (3) Research, Innovation, Technology and Modernization building a modern, technology-driven agriculture sector by improving research and technology-transfer systems to respond directly to farmers' needs. It involves establishing state-of-the-art infrastructure for education, accelerating the deployment of digital and modern ICT systems, and significantly increasing the national mechanization index; (4) Climate Adaptation, Mitigation and Resilience Building, which involves promoting the 100% adoption of the sustainable intensive conservation agriculture model, expanding irrigation, establishing climate early warning systems, and using climate risk insurance to safeguard farmers against droughts; (5) Rural Industrialization and Rural Development, accelerating inclusive, agriculture-led development to uplift rural communities economically and socially. It relies heavily on projects and models to transition the rural economy from subsistence farming to commercial operations; (6) Investment and Finance, mobilizing public, private, and development sector finance for agri-food systems transformation, including lobbying for the allocation of 10% of the national budget to agriculture, creating an environment that crowds in private and philanthropic investment, and utilizing new bankable and transferable title deeds to raise capital; (7) Markets and Trade Development, enhancing domestic and international market access and establishing Zimbabwe as a regional agro-processing hub rather than just a supplier of raw products. It consists of improving market efficiencies, upgrading logistics and storage infrastructure, lowering the cost of trade through "ease of doing business" reforms, and ensuring compliance with environmental, social, and traceability standards; (8) Enabling Infrastructure Development, Rehabilitation and Management, establishing and upgrading physical infrastructure to support agricultural production, storage, logistics, and processing. This consists of expanding national grain storage capacity, building modern urban agriculture markets, and working across government agencies to establish viable agro-industrial parks in rural provinces; (9) Land and Security of Tenure, enhancing land administration, planning capacity, and security of tenure to encourage long-term agricultural investment and economic development; (10) Building Internal Capacity to Deliver Transformation focused on recruiting, training, and retaining top talent (such as transitioning extension workers into "Agricultural Business Advisors"), reinforcing institutional capacity, and maintaining a robust monitoring framework for continuous improvement.