By Virginia Njovo
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Development has unveiled a transformative initiative aimed at advancing rural industrialisation, noting that agriculture and land-based investments are key drivers of rural and national economic growth.Speaking during the stand visit at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo recently ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Professor Obert Jiri, said government was implementing the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy.“The Government of Zimbabwe is advancing rural transformation. We are now seeing that agriculture and land-based investments are among the most powerful drivers of rural and national economic growth, four times more effective than any other sector because they spur faster industrial transformation when paired with local beneficiation.“The overall thrust is clear build grassroots economies around specific products and keep value addition local to accelerate rural transformation and industrialisation across Zimbabwe,” said Prof Jiri.Prof Jiri further encouraged parastatals such as the Grain Marketing Board, ZINWA Agricultural Development Authority, Agricultural Finance Corporation, Agricultural Marketing Authority, and Kutsaga to spearhead rural and agricultural transformation by expanding their roles.“Parastatals should reinvent themselves as drivers of rural and agricultural transformation, operating as integrated and commercially viable entities with a focus on food security, economic development and value addition,” he said.At the 2026 Rural Industrialisation Indaba in Bulawayo, Minister of Lands and Rural Development, Vangelis Peter Haritatos, said Government was shifting from policy to production.“The Government is now moving from policy to production, prioritising action over talk. Land is the bedrock of development, and rural economies must move up the value chain by processing, packaging and profiting locally rather than exporting raw materials.“Agriculture’s gross value rose from US$5 billion in 2019 to US$10.3 billion in 2025. However, we are now focusing on value addition and beneficiation, not tonnage. Anchored in National Strategy 2, the Zimbabwe National Industry Policy, and the Agriculture and Food Systems Rural Transformation Strategy 2, Government is scaling Rural Development 8.0 nationwide to establish local industrial hubs and aggregation centres that bring together Government, the private sector and rural partners, turning rural production into industrial output,” said Haritatos.
