High-Level Talks Target US$2bn Grain Imports

By Rumbidzai Mashayahanya

A high-level stakeholder meeting has been convened by the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) and Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS) to deliberate on concrete measures to reduce Zimbabwe’s grain import bill and accelerate the adoption of local alternatives.

Zimbabwe currently spends an estimated US$2 billion annually on grain and oilseed imports, a figure that authorities have flagged as a national security vulnerability, particularly in the context of global supply chain disruptions driven by wars, geopolitical tensions and climate shocks.

The invite only meeting, scheduled for January 15 at a venue to be announced, will bring together senior government officials, captains of industry, financiers, agro-processors and farmer representative bodies. The objective is to align policy, investment and implementation strategies around localisation of the grains and oilseeds value chain.

“The meeting is convened against a backdrop of heightened global geopolitical uncertainty and repeated supply chain disruptions, which have exposed the risks associated with over reliance on food imports,” reads a press statement.

“Lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing global conflicts have underscored a critical reality: food import dependence is a national security vulnerability.”

A sector with deep roots and latent capacity

Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector has historically been the backbone of the economy, anchoring export earnings, employment and industrial development. Prior to the 2000s, the country was widely regarded as Southern Africa’s breadbasket, with a sophisticated commercial farming system that supported downstream industries in milling, textiles, food processing, logistics and manufacturing.

At its peak, agribusiness accounted for over 60 percent of raw materials for local industry, positioning agriculture not merely as a primary sector, but as a driver of industrialisation and regional trade. The erosion of this integrated value chain model over the past two decades has significantly increased reliance on imports, particularly for strategic staples such as wheat, soya and maize derivatives.

Despite this decline, policymakers and industry players argue that Zimbabwe retains comparative advantages that can be rapidly reactivated such as its fertile land, diverse agroecological zones, established irrigation infrastructure, skilled farmers and a strong research base anchored by public and private institutions.

Regional positioning and strategic relevance

Regionally, Zimbabwe occupies a strategic geographic and climatic position within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with the capacity to serve not only its domestic market but also regional demand corridors extending into Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Analysts note that with coordinated investment and policy consistency, Zimbabwe could reclaim its role as a net exporter of grains and oilseeds, reducing pressure on regional supply chains that are increasingly strained by climate variability and global market volatility.

“In a region that is becoming progressively import-dependent, Zimbabwe’s agricultural recovery is not just a national issue, it is a regional food security imperative,” one industry expert said.

Policy push and emerging innovation

According to the statement, a significant proportion of Zimbabwe’s agricultural imports can be competitively produced locally, provided there is coordinated action across policy, financing, production and processing.

“In response, the Government of Zimbabwe has prioritised self-sufficiency in grains and oilseeds, as well as the domestication of key agricultural value chains, as both an economic and security imperative,” the statement adds.

Encouragingly, local research and innovation have already yielded a new wheat strain capable of substituting imports traditionally sourced from Europe and North Africa, potentially saving millions of dollars in foreign currency.

This development comes against the backdrop of what officials describe as the best wheat harvest since the onset of commercial wheat farming, reinforcing confidence that domestic supply can sustainably meet national demand if supported by predictable markets and investment.

A key focus of the meeting is expected to be Statutory Instrument 87 of 2025 (SI 87), which restricts imports of selected grains and oilseeds as a means of stimulating domestic production and accelerating agro-industrial growth.

Stakeholders are expected to interrogate how such regulatory tools can be complemented by financing models, off take guarantees, irrigation expansion, and private-sector-led agro-processing, to ensure that localisation translates into competitiveness rather than protectionism.