Zimbabwe Bets On Sugarcane To Cut Fuel Import Bill By 2035
At first light in the Lowveld, the sugarcane fields around Chiredzi and Triangle are already humming. Irrigation pumps thrum, cane tops rustle in the breeze, and tractors groan their way down muddy tracks. For decades, this green sea has mainly meant sugar. Cabinet now wants it to mean fuel, power, plastic, fertiliser – and a smaller fuel import bill.
Cabinet has approved the Zimbabwe Sugarcane Industry Development Strategy (2026–2035), a long-term plan that aims to turn the country into a globally competitive producer of sugarcane and its by-products, including ethanol for fuel blending, by 2035.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda announced the decision at a post-Cabinet briefing in Harare, saying the strategy is designed to drive rural industrialisation, energy generation, and export growth as Zimbabwe pursues its vision of becoming an upper middle-income economy.
How Sugarcane Fits Into Zimbabwe’s Fuel Strategy
Sugarcane already plays a crucial role in Zimbabwe’s fuel blending programme, supplying ethanol that is mixed with petrol to reduce import volumes. Cabinet now wants to deepen that role by sharply increasing cane yields, ethanol output, and power generation from sugar mills.
The new strategy sets out clear targets by 2035:
- Raise sugarcane yield from 81 tonnes per hectare to 110 tonnes per hectare.
- Increase sugar production from 400 000 tonnes to 500 000 tonnes per year.
- Boost electricity generation from sugar operations from 23 megawatts to 200 megawatts.
- Expand ethanol production from 155 million litres to 600 million litres annually.
- Grow sugar exports from 100 000 tonnes to 200 000 tonnes.
FFA Explainer:
Fuel blending involves mixing petrol with ethanol – an alcohol produced from crops such as sugarcane. The blended fuel reduces the amount of imported petrol needed, saving foreign currency. Many countries in southern Africa blend ethanol at different percentages to stretch their fuel supplies.
These targets align with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which prioritises energy security, industrial growth, and export earnings, while also echoing regional ambitions under AU Agenda 2063 to build low-carbon, value-added economies.
Seven Pillars To Lift Yields And Hectarage
Dr Soda said the plan goes beyond expanding sugarcane hectarage and focuses on diversification, value addition, and resilience.
“The Zimbabwe Sugarcane Industry Development Plan (2026–2035) seeks to transform Zimbabwe into a globally competitive, climate-resilient and innovation-driven producer of sugarcane and sugarcane-based products by 2035,” he said.
The strategy rests on seven pillars aimed at boosting both yield and area planted:
- Enabling policy, regulatory, and institutional frameworks.
- Enhancing productivity and climate resilience.
- Promoting product diversification.
- Market, trade development, and value chain diversification.
- Research, technology, and innovation.
- Inclusive growth and smallholder development.
- Finance and investment.
According to Dr Soda, better access to affordable finance, improved irrigation infrastructure, and more efficient regulation are expected to lower production costs, reduce market prices, and strengthen the industry’s regional and global competitiveness.
From Sugar To Energy, Fertiliser, And Plastics
The plan puts diversification and value addition at its core. Cabinet wants to push the industry beyond raw sugar and basic ethanol into a family of products drawn from molasses and bagasse – the fibrous residue left after crushing sugarcane.
“The Plan is focused on diversification and value addition through expanded ethanol production, renewable energy generation, industrial by-products, bio-fertilisers, stock feeds, bio-plastics and other downstream industries derived from sugarcane by-products such as molasses and bagasse,” Dr Soda said.
FFA Explainer:
Molasses is the thick, dark syrup that remains when sugar is extracted from cane juice. It can be used to produce ethanol, stock feed, and various industrial products. Bagasse is the dry fibrous pulp left after crushing cane. It is often burned to generate steam and electricity, and can also be processed into boards, paper, or bio-plastics.
Government sees these by-products as a way to de-risk the sector, ensuring that the industry remains viable even when sugar prices soften. More processing capacity, especially in ethanol and power, is expected to support sustained profitability across the value chain.
Zimbabwe Anchor: What The Strategy Could Mean In Chiredzi
In Chiredzi district, where many smallholder farmers supply cane to large estates, the strategy could reshape daily life. If mills expand co-generation capacity, they may feed more electricity into the local grid, stabilising supply for irrigation pumps, clinics, and schools.
Inclusive growth and smallholder development, one of the strategy’s pillars, will be closely watched here. Many outgrowers complain about high input costs, water charges, and limited bargaining power. If the new plan opens access to cheaper finance, better extension services, and fairer contract arrangements, these farmers stand to gain.
Women and youth – often relegated to seasonal labour in the fields or loading cane – could find new opportunities in value-added enterprises such as bio-fertiliser production, briquettes from bagasse, or small-scale transport and harvesting services, especially if local investment vehicles or cooperatives are supported.
Infrastructure, Research, And Climate Resilience
Cabinet’s strategy recognises that yields cannot climb from 81 tonnes to 110 tonnes per hectare without serious investment in irrigation, drainage, and on-farm management.
Dr Soda said infrastructure modernisation, research and innovation, and strengthened partnerships between Government, the private sector, development partners, academia, and local communities would be promoted to secure long-term sustainability.
FFA Explainer:
Climate resilience in sugarcane means developing varieties and farming practices that can withstand heat, erratic rainfall, and water shortages. This includes improved irrigation scheduling, drought-tolerant varieties, soil conservation, and better early-warning systems for pests and diseases.
For low-lying cane areas vulnerable to drought and cyclones, such as parts of Masvingo and Manicaland, stronger research links with universities and regional institutes could help farmers adapt faster. Trials on water-efficient varieties, integrated pest management, and soil health could feed into extension messages delivered through miller field schools and farmer groups.
Cutting The Fuel Import Bill – And The Risks
The most eye-catching target in the strategy is the planned jump in ethanol output from 155 million to 600 million litres a year. If achieved, that would sharply deepen fuel blending and reduce the foreign currency Zimbabwe spends on petrol imports.
Dr Soda said coordinated investment and collaboration would allow the sugar industry to become a key driver of sustainable economic transformation, job creation, and green industrial development, contributing to long-term growth and prosperity.
Yet there are risks. A heavy focus on sugarcane for fuel could divert land and water from food crops if not managed carefully. Communities around cane estates have long raised concerns about water use, environmental impacts, and secure land rights.
Policy coherence will be critical. The same Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development that is promoting irrigated wheat, maize, and horticulture must ensure that sugarcane expansion does not undermine food security or smallholder access to irrigation.
Smallholders, Contracts, And Fair Value Sharing
The strategy explicitly mentions inclusive growth and smallholder development, signalling a recognition that the benefits of the 2035 vision must reach beyond big estates.
For outgrower farmers in places like Hippo Valley, Mkwasine, and Mwenezana, the details will matter: contract terms, cane payment systems, input pricing, and how revenue from new products such as power and bio-plastics is shared.
Contract farming models in tobacco and cotton have shown both promise and pitfalls. If sugarcane contracts are transparent, backed by independent arbitration, and aligned with NDS1 goals on rural incomes and poverty reduction, they could draw more youths into cane farming as a business, not just labour.
Women’s land rights and participation in outgrower schemes will also need deliberate attention, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Without secure tenure and direct contracts, many women remain invisible in value chains, even though they do much of the fieldwork.
Finance, Investment, And The Role Of The Private Sector
The finance and investment pillar acknowledges that transforming the sugar industry will require large sums of capital – for new mills, co-generation plants, storage, logistics, and on-farm upgrades.
Dr Soda said the implementation of the strategy would significantly boost yield and hectarage through improved access to affordable finance and efficient regulatory support. Private investors already active in the Lowveld, including millers and independent power producers, are likely to play a central role.
Blended finance models, where public funds de-risk private lending to smallholders, could help extend irrigation and mechanisation beyond estates. Development partners interested in green energy and climate resilience may also find entry points in co-generation and bio-based products.
For Government, the challenge will be to attract this investment while safeguarding public interests – fair tariffs for power, transparent pricing for cane, environmental standards, and decent working conditions.
What To Watch As The Plan Rolls Out
As the 2026–2035 strategy moves from Cabinet paper to field, several markers will show whether it is on track.
- Do average cane yields begin to rise steadily above 81 tonnes per hectare?
- Are new smallholder outgrower blocks being established, with clear, fair contracts?
- Is electricity generation at sugar mills climbing towards the 200 megawatt target, and is some of that power reliably feeding local communities?
- Are ethanol blending levels increasing in a way that visibly cuts the fuel import bill?
- Are new downstream industries – from bio-fertilisers to bio-plastics – actually setting up in rural areas, creating decent jobs?
For a farmer in Triangle or a youth in Chiredzi Town, the success of the plan will not be measured in megawatt charts or export graphs. It will be felt in more predictable incomes, reliable power, and new opportunities linked to the cane fields that have defined the Lowveld for generations.
If the Zimbabwe Sugarcane Industry Development Strategy delivers on its promise, the sound of the early-morning pumps may one day be matched by the quiet hum of new factories, laboratories, and workshops – all built on the strength of a stalk of cane.
For now, the fields are ready. The real work begins in how this strategy is funded, governed, and shared with the people who plant, weed, cut, and haul the cane that keeps Zimbabwe’s sugar – and its fuel – flowing.
Sugarcane production tips, biofuel policy debates, and the evolving agenda on rural industrialisation will remain central to understanding where this new strategy leads.
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