President Emmerson Mnangagwa this morning officially launched the Expanded Mechanisation Facility in Hatcliffe, Harare, opening a new financing and distribution channel meant to put tractors and other farm equipment within reach of smallholder farmers as the 2026/2027 summer cropping season begins.
“Our objective is to ensure that mechanisation is no longer a privilege for farmers with substantial financial resources,” the President said, describing the initiative as a deliberate national investment in the productive capacity of our farmers, especially small-holder farmers.
Machinery will reach growers through structured financing and distribution arrangements involving eight lenders: CBZ Bank, AFC Land Bank, Women’s Empowerment Bank, POSB, ZB-Bank, Banc-ABC, Youth Empower Bank and SMEDCO. The Head of State commended the institutions for widening the country’s agricultural equipment supply base.
Three groups stand to benefit. Eligible individual farmers can acquire machinery and implements for their enterprises. Mechanisation Service Centres, which serve those who cannot justify buying capital-intensive equipment alone, will also be supported, including RIDA, AFC and ARDA. Village Business Units form the third category, with successful units in rural wards across all provinces set to gain, alongside those run by youths and war veterans.
He set conditions for the units: strong cashflows, accountable management, proper maintenance arrangements, transparent book-keeping and a clear plan for covering operating costs. Ministries, departments, agencies and universities were told to help strengthen the units’ governance and efficiency.
The launch sits within the Agriculture, Food System and Rural Transformation Strategy 2: 2026-2030, which prioritises climate-smart and precision farming. According to the President, the Mechanisation Development Alliance Framework serves food security and sovereignty, productivity and competitiveness, climate resilience, rural industrialisation and job creation, and value addition and export-oriented development.
He pointed to steady gains since the Second Republic began in 2017. The national tractor fleet has grown from 6,300 to 18,740, while combine harvesters have risen from 302 to 486, a 61 percent increase. Belarus alone has supplied 3,051 tractors and 150 combine harvesters, and other contributors include the John Deere, Bain New Holland and Zoomlion facilities, the Local Agricultural Equipment Manufacturing Initiative and the Livestock Health and Infrastructure Facility.
The returns are already visible in wheat, where output reached a record 670,000 metric tonnes in the 2026 season. “Going forward, this production trend must also be witnessed across all cropping activities and agriculture sub-sectors,” he said.
Gaps remain, however. Animal-drawn implements still account for 19.5 percent of land tilled, a limitation he said constrains timeliness and the area farmers can cultivate.
Looking ahead, Government wants to build local manufacture and assembly of farm machinery. “I challenge institutions of higher learning and stakeholders in the agriculture ecosystem to continue developing synergies for innovation and reverse engineering,” the President said. He also invited Zimbabweans in the diaspora to take part in agriculture and agro-processing value chains.
President Mnangagwa warned that an El Nino has been projected for the coming season. Government has drawn up a six-pillar response covering an enhanced Strategic Grain Reserve, accelerated climate-smart production, an integrated financing architecture, livestock drought mitigation, enhanced imports, and coordination, early warning systems and capacity building support. “Every household, village by village, ward by ward, district by district, and province by province, must play their part,” he said.
He cautioned that the programme’s success depends on effective utilisation, proper maintenance and sound capacitation of beneficiaries to meet financial obligations,and appealed to banks, manufacturers and suppliers to keep the facility transparent and efficient.
The launch was attended by both Vice Presidents, Cabinet ministers, members of the diplomatic corps, farmers’ union leaders and captains of industry.
