Without more effective climate smart agriculture adaptation, the impacts of a drier climate on agricultural sector could cause a decline in Zimbabwe’s GDP of over 2%. Currently, agriculture contributes about 10-20% of GDP, according to the Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Plan (CSAIP) report launched today alongside the Public Expenditure Review on Agriculture (PER). Ensuring climate smart investment in agriculture is therefore a priority for economic growth.
The CSAIP is a culmination of stakeholder consultations that prioritizes five packages of climate smart investments and policy actions that will support improvement across three pillars namely the achievement of a more productive, resilient and low-emissions agriculture sector. The Investment Plan includes investment priorities with promising impact to raise agricultural productivity, resilience to climate change and minimize greenhouse gas emission.
“Zimbabwe is already pursuing a selection of climate smart agriculture adaptations through Pfumvudza which includes Conservation Agriculture practices such as zero tillage, crop rotation and mulching. Improving the productivity of the sector goes hand in hand with creating an enabling environment in relation to poverty and gender issues, water access and land tenure security. Addressing these foundational issues is necessary to move to a more productive, resilient and low emissions agriculture sector that benefits millions of farmers,” said Hon Anxious Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement
“We are clear, as Government, that climate variability is increasingly becoming a major constraint to economic growth, food security and poverty reduction initiatives in the country, with data trends indicating negative impacts on water resource availability over time. In light of the above, investments in new and existing water sources are urgently required to meet current and projected demand for water, including conjunctive use of ground and surface water sources,” said Hon Clemence Chiduwa, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development.
The Agriculture PER notes that sustainable agricultural spending cannot be separated from broader economic reforms if we are to raise agricultural productivity and rebuild macroeconomic resilience. Agricultural spending increased from 5.1% of total Government expenditure between 2011-2015 to nearly a quarter of the budget in 2019. However, the sector continues to underperform in terms of productivity growth and food security. This calls for a need to realign spending priorities to programs that will drive agricultural productivity and resilience.
“As increased agriculture spending has not yielded greater productivity, key sources of recovery such as finance, policy and infrastructure need to be reoriented. With the threat of recurrent drought costing Zimbabwe about 7.3% of GDP every year, growing vulnerability is a concern. Restoring economic health through sustainable fiscal policy, alongside investments in markets, water access and improved technologies will have an enormous impact on the sector,” said Ms Mukami Kariuki, World Bank Country Manager for Zimbabwe.
Both the Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Plan and the Agriculture Public Expenditure Review provide evidence to inform agricultural policy decisions towards Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030.
