Story By Dickson Bandera
Interviews & Images By Kennedy Madzianike
The Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA)on Thursday told a compelling story of resilience, innovation, and sound governance at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Harare, declaring that it had delivered on its mandate despite the crippling effects of the 2023/24 El Niño-induced drought.
In a year where agriculture across Zimbabwe was battered by erratic rainfall and reduced yields, AMA said it remained focused on empowering farmers, ensuring structured market access, and protecting agricultural value chains from collapse.
“Our sector faced immense challenges due to the drought, but AMA did not retreat—we retooled, reimagined and recommitted ourselves to the farmers and the nation,” the Authority said in its official AGM presentation.
A key success was the rollout of the National Farmer Database Management System (NFDMS), a digital platform aimed at transforming how farmers are registered, how inputs are distributed, and how markets are accessed. By the end of 2024, more than 50,000 farmers had been registered in the pilot phase, with a target of three million by 2026.
The biometric-based system is expected to enhance accountability, eliminate fraud, and support future modules such as crop insurance, GIS mapping, and stop-order mechanisms—bringing much-needed structure to Zimbabwe’s agricultural operations.
AMA also highlighted progress under the Presidential Rural Development Programme, where it supported 449 Village Business Units (VBUs) that collectively generated over US$71,000 in rural income. These VBUs helped move farmers from subsistence to semi-commercial production, while improving food and nutrition security at household level.
Through its market facilitation efforts, AMA ensured continued buyer access for key commodities such as sesame, cotton, macadamia, and livestock, helping smallholder farmers remain economically active in a low-output season.
In terms of regulation, AMA developed new horticulture marketing standards in collaboration with the Standards Association of Zimbabwe, a move aimed at positioning the country to penetrate premium export markets. The Authority also brought structure to the sesame industry by licensing 18 players, curbing illegal exports and securing better returns for farmers.
More than 9,000 farmers were trained on contract farming, business skills, and market planning—including 1,000 livestock producers. AMA said training and capacity building had become a central pillar of its operations, helping communities withstand the economic impact of drought and prepare for future shocks.
To ease supply constraints in the poultry sector, AMA launched Feed Pulse, its own stock feed brand, which is already being distributed to small-scale poultry farmers.
On the financial front, AMA reported a ZWG 7.9 million surplus and a 32% growth in assets to ZWG 101.9 million, solidifying its position as one of the few public institutions in Zimbabwe with up-to-date audited accounts.
The Authority also reported strengthened corporate governance through active board oversight, audit compliance, and digital monitoring systems—part of its effort to anchor all operations in transparency and integrity.
“AMA is not just a regulatory body; we are a development catalyst. Integrity and innovation are central to our mission,” the board said in its address.
Stakeholders from government, farmer unions, development agencies, and the private sector who attended the AGM welcomed AMA’s progress and pledged continued collaboration.
Looking ahead, AMA said it would accelerate digital transformation, expand training programmes, and deepen market access for commodities like beef, sesame, and macadamia, reaffirming its central role in shaping a resilient, inclusive, and market-driven agricultural sector.
“The story of AMA in 2024 is one of turning adversity into opportunity. We regulated for growth, and we are not done yet,” the Authority concluded.
