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Featured

A
quiet
agricultural
revolution
is
reshaping
rural
Zimbabwe
where
solar-powered
irrigation,
AI-driven
crop
monitoring
and
mobile
market
platforms
are
helping
thousands
of
smallholder
farmers
grow
food
year-round,
boost
yields
and
access
markets.

Once
limited
by
erratic
rainfall
and
drying
dams,
farmers
in
semi-arid
regions
of
the
southern
African
country
are
now
cultivating
crops
throughout
the
year
using
solar
irrigation
systems
and
sand-abstraction
technology
that
taps
underground
water.

“We
used
to
watch
our
dam
dry
up
every
year.
Now,
we
grow
crops
all
year
round,”
said
David
Ndou,
chairperson
of
the
Sivuli
irrigation
scheme.

Supported
by
the
European
Union
and
implemented
with
technical
assistance
from
the
Food
and
Agriculture
Organisation
(FAO),
these
innovations
are
improving
productivity
and
climate
resilience.

Beyond
water
access,
FAO’s
Digital
Villages
initiative
is
equipping
over
5,000
farmers
–
especially
women
–
with
digital
identities,
geo-referenced
advisory
services
and
AI-enabled
crop
insights.

Mobile
platforms
are
connecting
producers
to
markets
while
digital
literacy
is
driving
smartphone
adoption
among
women
farmers.

FAO’s
Earth
Observation
for
Agricultural
Statistics
(EOSTAT)
is
also
enhancing
Zimbabwe’s
capacity
to
monitor
crop
performance
and
climate
risks.

Using
satellite
data,
the
system
delivers
over
80
percent
accuracy
in
yield
estimates
and
supports
early
warning
for
droughts
and
floods.

“EOSTAT
is
modernising
agricultural
monitoring
through
digital
innovation
and
driving
Zimbabwe’s
shift
toward
data-driven,
climate-smart
agriculture,”
Ministry
of
Agriculture’s
early
warning
specialist
Hillary
Mugiyo
said
on
Saturday.

National
institutions,
including
the
Zimbabwe
Space
Agency
and
the
National
University
of
Science
and
Technology,
are
receiving
training
in
advanced
geospatial
analysis.

To
modernise
agricultural
finance,
FAO,
the
African
Development
Bank
and
the
AFC
Land
Bank
have
introduced
digital
loan
management
systems.

Farmers
now
access
inputs
via
e-vouchers,
with
real-time
tracking
of
disbursements
and
repayments.

This
has
supported
the
cultivation
of
17,000
hectares
of
winter
wheat
between
May
and
August
and
72,000
hectares
of
maize
under
Zimbabwe’s
Seed
Revolving
Fund.

In
parallel,
FAO
is
strengthening
food
safety
systems
with
support
from
the
Fleming
Fund
and
the
Antimicrobial
Resistance
(AMR)
Multi-Partner
Trust
Fund.

Fourteen
sentinel
laboratories
have
been
rehabilitated
to
monitor
AMR
while
farmers
are
adopting
better
hygiene
and
animal
care
practices
to
reduce
antibiotic
use.

Zimbabwe’s
integrated
approach
–
combining
indigenous
knowledge
with
modern
technology
–
is
offering
a
replicable
model
for
climate-smart,
digitally-enabled
agriculture
across
Africa.

“In
Zimbabwe,
we
are
showcasing
solutions
that
work,
partnerships
that
deliver,
and
ideas
that
grow
into
meaningful
change,”
Assistant
FAO
Representative
(Programmes),
Tendai
Munyokoveri,
said.

Source:


Tech-driven
farming
revolution
transforms
rural
Zimbabwe

|
APAnews
–
African
Press
Agency

This
follows
remarks
made
by
Prof
Ncube
during
the
2026
pre-budget
seminar
held
in
Bulawayo
on
Wednesday,
November
5,
2025,
where
he
claimed
“most
Zimbabweans
are
now
middle-income
citizens”
citing
average
daily
spending
of
US$9,
improved
infrastructure
and
what
he
described
as
“growing
economic
stability.”

However,
AM
Party
leader,
Mudenda
Chilumbo,
said
the
minister’s
statement
was
“a
deliberate
attempt
to
deceive
the
nation,”
arguing
that
the
reality
on
the
ground
paints
a
completely
different
picture.

“The
minister
is
misleading
Zimbabweans
because
according
to
the
World
Bank,
middle-income
status
refers
to
a
country
whose
Gross
National
Income
(GNI)
per
capita
lies
between
US$1
136
and
US$4
465,”
said
Chilumbo.

“This
is
contrary
to
Zimbabwe,
where
teachers,
nurses,
and
other
public
service
workers
including
our
pensioners
are
receiving
less
than
US$250
per
month.
Many
urban
communities
including
Bulawayo
and
Harare
have
gone
for
years
without
running
water.
How
do
you
claim
upper
middle-income
status
under
these
circumstances,
Minister
Ncube?”

Chilumbo
said
the
situation
was
even
worse
in
rural
areas,
where
basic
services
remain
out
of
reach
for
most
families.

“In
rural
areas,
particularly
in
the
most
marginalised
provinces
of
Matabeleland
North,
South
and
parts
of
Midlands,
families
still
draw
drinking
water
from
open
wells
and
rivers
shared
with
wild
animals
and
livestock 
and
my
home
area,
Binga,
is
a
case
study
for
this
matter.
Do
you
argue?”
he
asked.

“Schools
remain
trapped
in
the
colonial
era
without
textbooks,
furniture,
or
laboratories
and
thousands
of
children
walk
long
distances
just
to
learn
under
trees.”

Chilumbo
described
the
country’s
public
hospitals
as
“death
traps”
and
said
informal
workers
and
small
traders,
who
form
the
backbone
of
Zimbabwe’s
economy,
continue
to
operate
under
harsh
conditions.

“Hospitals
that
are
supposed
to
serve
citizens
as
a
public
good
remain
death
traps
where
patients
must
bring
their
own
gloves,
bandages
and
medicine,”
he
said.

“Meanwhile,
informal
traders,
who
employ
the
majority
of
our
citizens,
continue
to
operate
under
harassment,
spot
fines
and
arbitrary
levies
without
real
government
support.
Civil
servants
struggle
to
afford
transport
to
work.
Families
in
towns
rely
on
firewood
for
cooking,
while
rural
clinics
operate
in
darkness.
The
above
are
the
real
conditions
to
which
our
citizens
are
subjected,
Minister
Ncube
not
your
lies.”

The
AM
leader
said
comparing
Zimbabwe’s
economic
situation
to
countries
that
have
genuinely
achieved
middle-income
status
exposes
how
far
the
nation
still
has
to
go.

“To
put
Zimbabwe’s
statistical
middle-income
claim
into
perspective,
take
notes
from
the
countries
that
have
genuinely
achieved
it,”
said
Chilumbo.

“Botswana,
for
example,
has
invested
heavily
in
healthcare,
education,
and
infrastructure.
Its
average
worker
earns
over
US$800
per
month,
public
hospitals
are
well-equipped,
and
electricity
and
water
supply
reach
most
households.”

He
added
that
Mauritius
and
Malaysia
provide
clear
examples
of
countries
whose
development
is
reflected
in
tangible
quality-of-life
improvements
for
the
majority
of
citizens.

“Mauritius
provides
free
healthcare
and
education
to
all
citizens
and
its
per
capita
income
is
over
US$11
000.
Malaysia,
which
was
at
a
similar
development
stage
as
Zimbabwe
in
the
1980s,
now
boasts
modern
infrastructure,
a
thriving
industrial
base
and
a
per
capita
income
above
US$12
000,”
said
Chilumbo.

He
stressed
that
those
nations
are
globally
recognised
as
genuine
upper
middle-income
economies
“based
on
tangible
improvements
in
living
standards
for
the
majority,
not
only
the
elite
few.”

“Upper
middle-income
economies
are
defined
by
a
GNI
per
capita
of
at
least
US$4
500,
not
through
propaganda
meant
to
advance
Mnangagwa’s
ambitions
to
extend
his
tenure
of
office
unconstitutionally
using
state
platforms
such
as
a
pre-budget
seminar,”
Chilumbo
said.

The
AM
leader
further
accused
the
finance
minister
of
prioritising
political
loyalty
over
national
interests.

“The
AM
party
has
strong
evidence
that
Mthuli
Ncube
is
not
serving
the
interests
of
the
people.
He
is
serving
his
master,
Emmerson
Mnangagwa,
so
that
he
evades
justice
in
connection
with
the
Barbican
Bank
he
owned,
which
duped
Bulawayo
residents
of
their
hard-earned
money
and
never
refunded
them,”
claimed
Chilumbo.

Chilumbo
said
the
government’s
“middle-income”
narrative
was
part
of
a
broader
political
campaign
designed
to
justify
failed
economic
policies
and
maintain
power
under
the
guise
of
progress.

“Zimbabwe
cannot
claim
to
have
reached
middle-income
status
when
inflation
remains
high,
workers
are
underpaid,
hospitals
are
under-equipped,
and
millions
live
without
basic
services,”
he
said.

“The
government
must
stop
insulting
citizens
with
cooked-up
statistics.
We
live
this
reality
daily,
no
clean
water,
no
jobs,
no
electricity,
and
collapsing
infrastructure.
That
is
not
middle-income
life.
That
is
survival.”

According
to
the
Zimbabwe
National
Students
Union
(ZINASU),
the
students—Lindon
Zanga
and
Marlvin
Saint
Madanda—were
violently
abducted
at
Mzimba
Shopping
Centre
in
Chinhoyi.

The
union
said
the
pair
was
taken
by
unidentified
people
in
an
unmarked
grey
Isuzu,
a
vehicle
that
had
been
seen
on
campus
distributing
campaign
materials
for
their
rivals,
the
Zimbabwe
Congress
of
Students’
Union
(ZICOSU).

Zanga
and
Madanda
were
allegedly
tortured,
threatened,
and
beaten
for
more
than
12
hours
before
being
dumped.
They
were
taken
to
Chinhoyi
Police
Station
and
later
to
a
local
hospital
for
treatment.

In
a
statement
issued
on
Tuesday,
11
November,
before
the
students
were
found,
ZINASU
president
Emmanuel
Sitima
alleged
that
the
abductions
were
part
of
a
broader
attempt
to
intimidate
students
and
silence
dissenting
voices
on
campus. The
statement
reads:

“It
is
of
greater
concern
that,
as
the
Zimbabwe
National
Students
Union
(ZINASU),
we
wake
up
today
to
sing
the
same
script
of
abduction,
terror
and
danger
for
student
leaders
who
are
doing
nothing
more
than
just
campaigning
in
an
SRC
election.

“The
two
student
leaders
were
snatched
away
in
front
of
dozens
of
witnesses
in
a
brazen
act
of
banditry
that
has
not
only
instilled
fear
but
also
a
clear
exposure
of
the
modus
operandi
of
the
rogue
regime
that
is
seemingly
scared
of
an
open
contestation
of
ideas.

“The
presence
of
the Zanu-PF Youth
League
in
Chinhoyi,
especially
the
notorious
presence
of
the
Youth
League
Political
Commissar Taurai Kandishaya,
who
has
a
sordid
history
of
doing
everything
necessary
and
unnecessary
to
please
his
bosses,
should
not
be
cast
aside.

“He
is
notorious
for
threats
and
exposing
innocent
citizens
who
dare
to
think
differently
from
the Zanu-PF script;
his
hand
is
ever
more
visible
in
this
situation,
and
he
is
the
main
source
of
this
conflict.

“An
SRC
election
is
a
pure
and
representative
form
of
student
politics
that
is
supposed
to
give
young
people
a
glimpse
into
leadership,
but
the
rogue
elements
in
power
use
state
resources
to
silence
any
dissenting
voices
against
their
autocratic
and
archaic
form
of
governance.

“Zimbabwe
does
not
require
thugs
in
leadership
who
are
ready
to
sacrifice
young
people
to
win
a
university
election.

“Many
people
who
have
been
abducted
by
this
regime
have
disappeared
forever;
the
likes
of Itai Dzamara are
forever
gone,
but
his
disappearance
was
treated
as
a
non-event.

“This
comes
as
a
panic
reaction
from
both
the
opposing
student
union
ZICOSU,
which
is
directly
sponsored
by
the
oppressive
ruling
regime
ZANU
PF,
and
a
strong
indication
of
attempts
to
silence
the
students’
voice.

“It’s
another
reality
that
students
have
ceased
to
be
seen
as
beacons
of
academic
excellence,
but
in
the
eyes
of
a
jittery
regime,
they
are
terrorists
that
seek
to
defy
an
oppressive
agenda.

“The
Desperation
of
this
administration
has
now
reached
a
boiling
point,
and
as
the
bona
fide
students’
Union
of
Zimbabwe,
we
have
now
drawn
a
line
in
the
sand
where
we
say
that
enough
is
enough
and
business
can
no
longer
continue
as
usual
under
such
circumstances.

“NOT
when
the
parents
of
the
two
Comrades
do
not
know
where
their
children
are,
when
other
students
live
in
perennial
fear
of
exercising
their
Constitutionally
guaranteed
rights
due
to
a
system
so
paranoid
of
its
own
children.

“The
Authorities
at
CUT,
in
cahoots
with
the
regime,
portray
themselves
as
a
saintly
administration
when
it
does
Satanic
rituals
behind
the
scenes.

“Zanu-PF brought
a
list
of
washed-up
celebrities
to
sing
for
the
suffering
students
of
Chinhoyi,
but
whilst
they
sang,
their
masters
were
mooting
behind
the
scenes
to
bring
fear
and
untoward
suffering
to
the
general
populace.

“When
students’
rights
matter,
the
government
has
looked
the
other
way.
This
is
an
action
that
should
be
condemned
as
outrageous,
archaic,
and
anathema
to
progressive
democracy.

“Campuses
should
be
safe
havens
where
students
seek
accountability,
defy
oppression,
and
call
for
academic
freedom.

“As Zinasu,
we
have
vowed
to
respond
with
the
language
they
understand
the
most
until
our
Comrades
are
safely
returned.

“We
are
giving
those
responsible
to
act
in
a
jiffy
and
return
our
Cdes.
Zimbabwe
is
not
for
them
but
for
all
of
Us.

“As
we
utilise
other
legal
avenues,
we
believe
this
issue
is
supreme,
the
liberty
of
students
is
at
risk,
and
the
detects
of
the
Constitution
should
be
adhered
to.”

HARARE
–
Prophetic
Healing
and
Deliverance
(PHD)
Ministries
founder
Walter
Magaya
has
been
granted
US$3,000
bail
by
the
Harare
High
Court
following
his
arrest
last
week
on
rape
and
fraud
charges.

Magaya,
who
denies
the
allegations,
was
ordered
to
surrender
his
passport
and
title
deeds
as
part
of
his
bail
conditions.

Justice
Gibson
Mandaza
ordered
Magaya’s
release
following
a
virtual
hearing.

The
preacher
was
arrested
together
with
his
wife,
Tendai,
and
a
company
representative,
who
were
each
granted
US$300
bail
last
week.

The
couple
faces
13
counts
of
fraud
for
allegedly
swindling
home-seekers
through
a
failed
housing
and
investment
scheme
operated
under
their
companies,
Planet
Africa
(Pvt)
Ltd
and
Yadah
Connect
(Pvt)
Ltd.

Prosecutors
allege
that
Magaya
and
his
wife
misrepresented
to
their
followers
that
they
had
secured
large
tracts
of
land
for
residential
projects
in
Chishawasha,
Norton,
Westgate,
Fern
Valley
(Mutare),
Bulawayo,
Kwekwe,
Arcturus,
Ruwa,
Manyame
and
Nyatsime.

The
firms
allegedly
collected
about
US$50,000
and
R190,000
from
prospective
homeowners
for
stands
that
never
materialised.

In
his
bail
application,
Magaya
dwelt
much
on
the
rape
charges.
Represented
by
lawyer
Admire
Rubaya,
he
dismissed
the
allegations
as
fabrications
“at
the
instance
of
the
Zimbabwe
Gender
Commission”
which
he
said
“has
misused
its
powers
to
force
these
two
complainants
into
concocting
all
manner
of
allegations”
against
him.

He
accused
the
commission
of
“a
clear
and
brazen
abuse
of
the
criminal
justice
system,”
saying
it
was
“grandstanding
and
playing
to
the
cameras”
to
appear
as
though
it
was
defending
women’s
rights.

“The
applicant
is,
in
fact,
the
victim
of
a
calculated
campaign.
This
ploy
appears
designed
to
create
a
public
spectacle
of
efficiency
for
the
commission,
achieved
only
through
the
wholesale
vilification
and
character
assassination
of
the
applicant,”
Rubaya
argued
in
court
papers.

Magaya
further
claimed
that
the
rape
complaints
were
not
voluntary,
but
were
made
“after
adverts
were
flighted
in
the
media
inviting
alleged
victims
to
approach
the
Gender
Commission.”

He
maintained
his
innocence,
saying:
“The
applicant
denies
that
he
unlawfully
and
intentionally
had
sexual
intercourse
with
the
alleged
complainants
in
the
manner
alleged
or
at
all.”

Magaya
also
rejected
claims
that
he
interfered
with
the
complainants,
arguing
that
“he
does
not
control
the
police
and
cannot
be
persecuted
for
the
alleged
conduct
of
other
individuals
not
connected
to
him.”

The
high-profile
preacher,
who
has
previously
faced
a
number
of
legal
disputes,
said
his
detractors
were
working
“day
and
night”
to
destroy
him
and
his
ministry.

The
matter
is
scheduled
to
return
to
the
Harare
Magistrates’
Court
on
November
18
for
routine
remand.

The
students,
23-year-old
Marlvin
Madanda
and
21-year-old
Lindon
Zanga,
were
reportedly
abducted
on
Monday
and
found
the
following
day,
dumped,
beaten,
and
injured.

Amnesty
International
said
the
attacks
“threaten
not
only
freedoms
of
assembly,
expression,
and
association,
but
also
students’
rights
to
education,
non-discrimination,
academic
freedom,
and
participation
in
university
life.”

The
organisation
urged
authorities
to
carry
out
thorough
investigations
and
ensure
that
students
can
express
themselves
and
organise
peacefully
without
fear
of
intimidation,
reprisals,
or
abuse.

Opposition
politician
Nelson
Chamisa
also
condemned
the
abduction
and
torture,
calling
on
the
Zimbabwe
Republic
Police
(ZRP)
to
take
immediate
action. Chamisa
posted
on
X:

“Dear
@PoliceZimbabwe,
Why
should
this
terrorism
and
primitive
brutality
on
harmless
students
and
simple
innocent
citizens
be
allowed
to
continue
like
this?

“Mr
Mnangagwa,
why
should
this
not
worry
or
concern
you
??
Mugabe
was
bad.
This
is
worse.
So
barbaric.
This
is
pure
evil!!”