On-Farm Value Chains And Innovation: Lessons For Zimbabwe’s Agriculture-Led Growth

Standing in the dairy parlour at Mutendi Dairy in Mbungo, Masvingo District, Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Dr Obert Jiri, was clear about what Zimbabwe needs next: farms that do more than produce raw commodities.

They must feed full value chains.

His message during the visit was blunt and numbers-driven. Zimbabwe produced about 120 million litres of milk in the 2024–25 season against a target of 150 million litres. Closing that gap, he said, depends on growing the national dairy herd from around 60,000 animals to between 80,000 and 100,000, while cutting feed costs and investing in processing closer to the farm.

Mutendi Dairy, part of the broader Mbungo agricultural operations, is one example of what this can look like in practice: investments in cows, feed production, and on-farm processing, backed by government policy tools such as the 5% dairy import levy and duty-free soya and soya meal imports aimed at reducing the cost of feed – the single biggest expense in dairy production.

Why On-Farm Value Chains Matter For Growth

Professor Jiri’s emphasis on rural industrialisation and on-farm value chains ties directly into Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and the African Union Agenda 2063 objectives. Agriculture is expected to drive growth, but only if more value is retained and created in rural areas instead of leaking away through raw commodity exports and imported finished foods.

On-farm or farm-linked value chains mean that a farm does one or more of the following, instead of just selling raw output:

• Processes milk into yoghurt, cheese, sour milk, or butter.
• Turns maize or wheat into meal, flour, or stockfeed.
• Cleans, grades, and packages produce like horticultural crops for supermarkets and export.
• Produces its own feed from crop residues and by-products.

FFA Explainer:

An on-farm value chain is when stages like processing, packaging, storing, and basic marketing happen on or near the farm, rather than at distant factories. This spreads income across more activities, creates jobs for youth and women, and reduces transport and handling costs.

Mutendi Dairy illustrates this shift. By investing not only in cows but also in feed and processing capacity, the operation keeps a larger share of the dairy value locally. That aligns with the drive for rural industrialisation and higher rural incomes.

Policy Tools Backing Dairy And Value Chains

During his visit, Professor Jiri pointed to two key policy measures currently supporting the dairy value chain:

• A 5% dairy import levy, which is channelled back into the sector to support herd growth and infrastructure.
• Duty-free importation of soya and soya meal, aimed at cutting the cost of stockfeed, which is the main recurrent cost for most dairy farmers.

These tools are designed to help Zimbabwe close the gap between current milk output (120 million litres) and its 150 million litre target, and ultimately to meet national demand with local production. For farmers, they mean two things: an opportunity to expand production, and a strong signal that government expects them to invest in the full chain, not just in raw milk.

The lessons from Mutendi Dairy and similar operations – such as integrating feed production with dairy, investing in basic on-farm processing, and aligning with supportive policy – are directly relevant to small and medium-scale farmers across the country.

What Mutendi Dairy Shows Other Farmers

Mutendi Dairy’s model rests on three pillars that Zimbabwean farmers, including A1 and A2 farmers, can adapt:

• Herd Investment: Expanding and improving the dairy herd to increase litres per day and per cow, supported by good genetics and veterinary care.
• Feed Integration: Producing part of the feed on-farm (silage, hay, maize, soya) and using duty-free soya and soya meal to balance rations more cost-effectively.
• On-Farm Processing: Adding basic processing or chilling facilities to supply formal markets with better-quality, higher-value products.

For smallholders near growth points like Masvingo, Gweru, or Marondera, this could mean starting with milk collection centres and cooperative chilling tanks, plus simple products like fermented milk, while larger farms move into more advanced processing such as cheese and yoghurt.

Dairy cooperatives in Zimbabwe can draw direct lessons from Mutendi Dairy: organise around feed, chilling, and simple processing, and then plug into government and private sector support that rewards volume and quality.

International Innovations Zimbabwe Can Learn From

Zimbabwe is not alone in trying to push agriculture-led growth through value chains. African and global examples offer concrete models that can be adapted locally.

How Kenya’s Smallholder Dairy Model Adds Value

Kenya’s dairy sector is often cited by regional experts as an example of how thousands of smallholders can feed a strong value chain. Key features include:

• Milk collection centres in rural areas that chill and bulk milk before it travels to processors.
• Farmer-owned cooperatives that handle collection, basic quality control, and negotiations with processors.
• Private processors that produce packed milk, yoghurt, and other products for urban and export markets.

For Zimbabwe, the Kenyan experience highlights the value of:

• Organising smallholder dairy farmers into cooperatives linked to collection and chilling hubs.
• Using mobile-based payment systems and record-keeping to build trust between farmers and processors.
• Encouraging farmer-led investment in simple infrastructure such as aluminium cans, milk-testing kits, and basic cold rooms.

These are all areas where Zimbabwean farmers’ unions, private processors, and government advisory services can work together, with operations like Mutendi Dairy serving as anchor buyers and training hubs in provinces like Masvingo.

South African On-Farm Processing And Feed Lots

In South Africa, several medium and large commercial farms have built strong on-farm value chains, especially in dairy and beef. Common features include:

• On-farm processing of milk into pasteurised, branded products sold directly to supermarkets and schools.
• Integrated feedlots that use crop residues and by-products, reducing waste and adding value to grain production.
• On-farm abattoirs with basic cold rooms supplying local butcheries and hospitality businesses.

For Zimbabwe’s farmers – especially those along major corridors like Harare–Bulawayo and Harare–Mutare – the South African examples underline the importance of:

• Investing jointly in basic infrastructure, such as mini-abattoirs and cold storage, at district level.
• Developing farm brands and consistent quality standards to supply formal retailers.
• Linking crop and livestock enterprises so that by-products become feed, not waste.

Operations similar in size to Mutendi Dairy could, for instance, explore integrated beef finishing, using crop residues and dairy by-products to support small feedlots, while still focusing on milk as the core business.

India’s Cooperative Dairy Model

India’s dairy industry, built heavily around cooperatives, shows how millions of small producers can plug into a structured value chain. Key principles include:

• Village-level collection with daily payments based on quantity and quality.
• District unions that handle processing and marketing under common brands.
• Farmer ownership of the cooperative structure, with profits returning to members.

Zimbabwean policy-makers and farmer groups can draw two main lessons:

• Structure matters – clear, transparent ownership and benefit-sharing models keep farmers committed.
• Basic but reliable technologies – small chillers, testing units, and simple packaging – can transform informal milk sales into a formal, bankable business.

Cooperatives around Masvingo, Kwekwe, Chipinge, or Chinhoyi could be developed along similar lines, linking into processors and anchor farms like Mutendi Dairy or large processors in major cities.

Regional Examples Beyond Dairy: Wheat And Horticulture

Zimbabwe’s recent surge in winter wheat – with just over 105,000 hectares planted and a national target of 125,000 hectares – shows how coordinated policy and farmer response can shift a strategic value chain. Professor Jiri has been touring winter wheat fields nationwide, from anchor estates like Mbungo in Masvingo to other irrigated hubs, urging farmers to complete planting early to protect yields.

Early planting, supported by irrigation and contract schemes, has turned wheat into a serious winter income crop for many farmers. That experience mirrors successful wheat and horticulture initiatives elsewhere:

• Ethiopia has used contract farming and irrigation to support smallholder wheat and vegetable farmers, with on-farm or near-farm packhouses improving prices and market access.
• Morocco has developed horticulture clusters where farmers use drip irrigation and near-farm cold storage to supply export and domestic supermarkets.

The common threads are:

• Strong technical support on planting dates, varieties, and irrigation management.
• Investment in basic storage, cold rooms, and packhouses near production zones.
• Market contracts that reward quality and consistency.

Zimbabwe’s wheat and horticulture farmers – whether in Masvingo, Mashonaland Provinces, or Manicaland – can build on the same approach. Anchor farms like Mbungo Estates in wheat or Mutendi Dairy in milk can provide demonstration, aggregation, and in some cases, processing.

Practical Steps For Zimbabwean Farmers

Turning these examples into reality for Zimbabwean farmers, especially smallholders, requires practical, stepwise changes. Some of these can be started at village level; others need district or provincial coordination.

• Form Or Join Cooperatives: Dairy, wheat, and horticulture farmers should organise into producer groups to bulk production, share costs of chilling, milling, or packaging, and negotiate better prices.
• Invest In Simple Processing: Where full-scale plants are not feasible, start with basic operations – milk cooling and sour milk; small hammer mills for feed; basic grading and packaging for vegetables.
• Use Policy Windows: Take advantage of duty-free soya and soya meal imports to lower feed costs in dairy and beef; link into schemes funded by levies such as the 5% dairy import levy.
• Adopt Proven Agronomic Practices: In wheat and feed crops, follow guidance on early planting windows, correct fertiliser application, and efficient irrigation to maximise yields and cut unit costs.
• Engage Youth And Women: Many value-adding activities – record-keeping, marketing, processing, quality control – suit youth and women-run enterprises on and off the farm.

Young agripreneurs can specialise in services around these value chains: artificial insemination, milk testing, silage making, small-scale milling, or digital platforms linking farmers to buyers.

The Role Of Visits Like Jiri’s In Driving Change

Professor Jiri’s tours – from winter wheat fields to dairy operations like Mutendi – serve a double purpose. They provide up-to-date information on progress towards national targets, and they send a clear signal about the kind of agriculture government wants to promote: integrated, value-adding, and commercially minded, whether on a small plot or a large estate.

When a senior official stands on a farm and talks not just about hectares or litres, but about rural industrialisation and full value chains, it creates space for farmers, financiers, processors, and local authorities to align efforts.

For farmers across Zimbabwe, the message from Mbungo is straightforward. Investing in cows alone is not enough. Growing wheat without thinking about flour, or producing maize without considering feed and milling, leaves money on the table.

The examples from Mutendi Dairy, Kenyan and Indian dairy cooperatives, South African on-farm processing, and regional wheat and horticulture hubs all point in the same direction: farms that connect tightly to value chains generate more income, more jobs, and more resilience.

In Masvingo, where green wheat stands next to dairy cows at Mbungo, that shift is already visible. The challenge now is to spread it – field by field, herd by herd, processing unit by processing unit – across the rest of the country.

📲 Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel to Get Our Updates On Your Mobile

About The Author

Editor at Large

Farm & Future Africa (FFA) was born from the realization that Zimbabwe’s profound agricultural resilience and innovation needed a clear, authoritative voice to connect with the continent and the world.

See author's posts