AfDB Backs Zimbabwe’s Climate-Smart Agriculture Push With Zim-ACRES Launch
The air in Harare was cool and clear on Monday morning as Professor Dr. Obert Jiri, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, welcomed a high-powered mission from the African Development Bank into his office.
On the table were two flagship agricultural financing initiatives that could shape how Zimbabwe’s rural communities survive the next drought: the Zimbabwe Agriculture Value Chain and Livelihoods Enhancement Project (ZAVaCLEP) and the newly approved Zimbabwe Agriculture Climate Resilience and Vulnerability Reduction Project (Zim-ACRES).
The courtesy call, which doubled as a working session, reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s ambition to grow its agricultural sector into a US$15.8 billion industry by 2030 under the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy (AFSRTS2) 2026–2030. It also signalled that climate resilience, not just production, now sits at the heart of that vision.
Climate Resilience Grant Lands After El Niño Drought
At the core of the discussions was the US$24.9 million Zim-ACRES grant, which the Ministry describes as arriving at a defining moment. Rural communities across the country are still recovering from the 2023/2024 El Niño-induced drought, which scorched crops, dried up water sources, and squeezed already fragile household incomes.
“Let me reaffirm the Ministry’s unwavering commitment to ensure that all resources availed through AfDB support, including Zim-ACRES and ZAVaCLEP, are utilised transparently, efficiently, and for maximum impact on our farmers and rural communities,” said Prof. Jiri.
The AfDB mission, led by Programme Manager Yappy Silungwe, is in Zimbabwe for a two-week field schedule that will cover implementation supervision of ZAVaCLEP, now entering its second year, and the official launch of Zim-ACRES. The team is expected to visit several target districts to engage farmers, district officers, and local partners on how to translate project documents into tangible results before the next climate shock arrives.
What Are Zim-ACRES And ZAVaCLEP Trying To Fix?
Zim-ACRES and ZAVaCLEP sit at the intersection of climate risk, livelihoods, and value chains – the pressure point where many smallholders in Zimbabwe either thrive or slide into distress.
FFA Explainer:
Zim-ACRES (Zimbabwe Agriculture Climate Resilience and Vulnerability Reduction Project) is a grant-funded programme backed by the African Development Bank. Its goal is to strengthen climate resilience in rural areas by supporting early warning systems, climate-smart farming practices, and community-level economic initiatives. ZAVaCLEP (Zimbabwe Agriculture Value Chain and Livelihoods Enhancement Project) focuses on improving productivity and income opportunities along key agricultural value chains while supporting vulnerable households.
The government’s stated goal, under AFSRTS2 and aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger and AU Agenda 2063, is not just to grow volumes, but to stabilise rural incomes year after year, even when rainfall is erratic.
That is where the Ministry’s early warning, early action doctrine comes into play, anchored in three ideas that have become familiar to many farmers: Pfumvudza/Intwasa, Village Business Units, and the “Dam as an Economy” concept.
How Does Early Warning, Early Action Work On The Ground?
Prof. Jiri stressed that the Ministry is shifting from reacting after livelihoods collapse to acting before the shock fully bites.
Zimbabwe’s flagship Pfumvudza/Intwasa conservation agriculture model has already reshaped smallholder plots in communal wards from Tsholotsho to Mutoko, with farmers adopting smaller, well-prepared plots that use mulch, precise planting, and soil fertility management to protect yields when rainfall fails. Under Zim-ACRES, that logic will be intensified and linked to clearer climate signals and local agribusiness opportunities.
FFA Explainer:
Pfumvudza/Intwasa is Zimbabwe’s conservation agriculture approach where farmers prepare smaller plots in advance, apply manure or fertiliser in precise basins, retain crop residues as mulch, and follow strict plant population guidelines. The method aims to “harvest” every drop of rainfall, improve soil health, and stabilise yields, especially in low-rainfall areas.
The Ministry is pairing this agronomic backbone with Village Business Units – localised hubs that bring together input supply, aggregation, basic processing, and sometimes irrigation or water harvesting, often around a dam or borehole. The idea is simple but powerful: climate-smart production must be tied to local business activity if rural households are to move beyond subsistence.
Under the “Dam as an Economy” concept, a water body becomes a centre of gravity for irrigation, fisheries, horticulture, and related services. For farmers in drought-prone wards of Masvingo or Matabeleland South, that can mean switching part of their livelihood from risky rain-fed maize to irrigated vegetables, fish production, or fodder crops – and having a market pathway to sell them.
AfDB Calls For Speed: “Unlock The Momentum”
For the AfDB, the next two weeks are about turning those concepts into execution.
“The grant has come at exactly the right time, and we have a real opportunity to make it count for the farmers of Zimbabwe,” said mission lead Yappy Silungwe.
He pointed to the experience drawn from ZAVaCLEP, launched in October 2025 and now entering its second year, as a foundation for Zim-ACRES.
“ZAVaCLEP, which we launched in October 2025, has given us valuable experience as we enter its second year, and we are now channelling those lessons directly into ensuring Zim-ACRES hits the ground running,” Silungwe said.
His message to the joint team of government and AfDB staff was blunt: the money is already on the table. The work now is to clear bottlenecks.
“The resources are there, what we are here to do is unlock the momentum, sharpen our procurement processes, and get Village Business Units activated so that every dollar reaches the communities it was designed to serve. We are confident that with the commitment this Ministry has demonstrated, we will deliver transformational impact within this project’s lifetime.
I am requesting the team to fast-track implementation – on procurement, on Village Business Unit activation, and on key recruitments, so that we use every dollar of these resources for the people of Zimbabwe,” he added.
Where Will The Mission Go, And What Will It Look For?
Over the next fortnight, the joint AfDB–Zimbabwe team will travel through target districts under ZAVaCLEP and Zim-ACRES. While the final itinerary was not made public, the focus areas are clear: procurement, farmer engagement, and early warning systems that reach the last mile.
Mission members are expected to sit under trees with farmer groups, walk through Pfumvudza plots, inspect dams earmarked for “Dam as an Economy” activities, and meet local officials tasked with triggering action once a drought or flood warning is issued.
From the Ministry’s side, the priorities are to accelerate the delivery of inputs and equipment, make sure Village Business Units are activated as true entry points for both projects, and test whether the early warning and early action elements embedded in the designs are already visible on the ground.
This approach aligns closely with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which places agriculture at the centre of inclusive economic growth and calls for climate-proofed infrastructure and services in rural wards. It also speaks to the government’s emphasis on rural industrialisation – treating each ward as a potential centre of production and trade rather than a passive recipient of aid.
Zimbabwe Case Study: Village Business Units In Murehwa
Across Mashonaland East, farmers in Murehwa District have been among the early adopters of village-level agribusiness hubs that resemble the Village Business Units being championed under ZAVaCLEP and Zim-ACRES. In some wards, smallholder maize and groundnut producers now pool produce for aggregation, share hired shellers, and access inputs as a group instead of as isolated households.
Farmers in these areas say that when climate shocks hit, the ability to organise as a business unit softens the blow. They can bulk-buy drought-tolerant seed through the group, negotiate better prices for surplus groundnuts, and coordinate the use of any nearby irrigation infrastructure or nutrition gardens.
Those experiences resonate with ZAVaCLEP’s core mandate to unlock value chain opportunities, especially for women and youth. The AfDB partnership is expected to deepen such models by aligning them with climate forecasting, village savings groups, and local processing.
For a young farmer in Murehwa, that could mean receiving timely advice that the coming season will be drier, switching part of their land under Pfumvudza to smaller, carefully managed plots, accessing seed for drought-tolerant crops through the Village Business Unit, and then selling surplus through a pre-arranged buyer linked by the project. It is a chain of decisions and services that, if timed correctly, can mean the difference between coping and crisis.
Why This Matters For Food Security And Rural Dignity
The stakes are high. Climate models for Southern Africa suggest that El Niño and other extreme events will remain a recurring threat. In Zimbabwe, every failed season ripples through school attendance, rural nutrition, livestock herds, and local micro-businesses.
Projects like Zim-ACRES and ZAVaCLEP aim to break that pattern by embedding resilience into ordinary farming routines. Early warning is no longer just a radio announcement of poor rains ahead; it becomes a trigger for early input delivery, revised cropping plans, pre-positioned grain, and social protection where needed.
International agencies working on climate-smart agriculture say that farmers who combine improved agronomy, diversified incomes, and access to timely information are far more likely to withstand climatic shocks. Zimbabwe’s approach – with its blend of Pfumvudza, Village Business Units, and dam-centred micro-economies – is one national attempt to stitch those ingredients together.
For women farmers, who often manage both household food security and informal trade, easier access to inputs and value chains through local business units can reduce the time they spend travelling to distant markets or depots. For rural youth, the same structures can provide an entry point into agro-processing, transport services, irrigation management, or digital advisory services, aligning with Zimbabwe’s youth empowerment commitments under Agenda 2063.
From Strategy To Soil: The Real Test Begins
Back in Harare, as the AfDB team left the Ministry building to begin its field programme, one fact was clear: strategies and slogans will soon meet the hard reality of dry soils, half-filled dams, and stretched household budgets in the wards that Zim-ACRES and ZAVaCLEP are meant to serve.
Yet there is also a sense of cautious optimism. The financing is secured. The policy framework – from NDS1 to AFSRTS2 – is in place. The doctrine of early warning, early action has been clearly articulated. What remains is execution at speed and scale.
If the mission’s call to “unlock the momentum” translates into faster procurement, activated Village Business Units, and responsive early warning systems, then the next time the clouds fail, Zimbabwe’s farmers may be better prepared – not waiting helplessly for relief, but standing ready with plans already in motion.
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