More than 188,000 farming households across Zimbabwe have strengthened their food production and resilience through a four-year emergency agricultural programme that helped drive record wheat harvests, expand climate-smart farming, and unlock millions of dollars in private-sector financing for agricultural inputs, according to a press release by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The Government of Zimbabwe, the African Development Bank, and implementing partner, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), last week marked the successful completion of the initiative. Funded with $25 million from the Bank’s Transitional Support Facility, the project turned an emergency response into a long-term investment in agricultural resilience and food sovereignty. It concluded on 30 June 2026. The results highlighted the benefits of coordinated investment and strong partnerships.
The Zimbabwe Emergency Food Production Project was launched in 2022 in response to the combined impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and global supply chain disruptions. It was designed to help safeguard Zimbabwe’s food production while strengthening the country’s agrifood systems. The project provided quality agricultural inputs, improved farming technologies, and extension services. It promoted climate-smart agriculture across 153,000 hectares. It also increased production of drought-tolerant maize and sunflower seeds and contributed to average wheat yields of five tonnes per hectare.
One flagship initiative, the Seed Revolving Fund, implemented through AFC Land and Development Bank, supported more than 90,957 farmers, including about 33,108 women, in irrigation schemes. It recorded a loan repayment rate above 90 percent, demonstrating the creditworthiness of smallholder farmers. The project adopted an integrated approach that strengthened access to finance, digital services, post-harvest management, and institutional capacity. It modernised agricultural service delivery through the IDEA farmer registry platform. It also supplied metal grain silos, threshers, moisture meters, and oil-processing equipment.
The programme further expanded access to agricultural finance through a partial credit guarantee scheme administered by the Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism (AFFM) in partnership with Fertiliser and Seeds Group (FSG). The facility exceeded its original $15 million target by more than $44 million in fertiliser sales, moving over 80,000 tonnes through 23 private-sector agents and AFC.
“Against a target of 180,000 farmers, this project reached over 188,000, with women making up 60 percent of beneficiaries, well above our 40 percent target,” said Eyerusalem Fasika, the African Development Bank Group’s Country Manager for Zimbabwe.
She added that these numbers represent farming families who adopted new practices, accessed financing, and are now reaping the rewards in their harvests. The project also supported the Seed Services Institute and the Crop Breeding Institute to strengthen domestic seed production.
Lessons and financing models developed under the project are now shaping Zimbabwe’s Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2 (2026–2030). The strategy aims to build a $15.8 billion agriculture sector by 2030. It also seeks to raise agriculture’s contribution to GDP to between 12 and 15 percent. The African Development Bank reaffirmed its commitment to the next phase of transformation. It noted that the close-out provided an opportunity to take stock of what four years of partnership had made possible and to carry lessons forward.
