Harare, 16 October 2025 – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), together with the Government of Zimbabwe and private sector partners, has launched the pilot phase of the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission Pillar 3 (FARM P3), aiming to strengthen Zimbabwe’s sorghum value chain. The initiative seeks to reduce post-harvest losses of up to 30 percent, increase smallholder farmers’ incomes, and attract private investment in sustainable mechanization. By promoting youth-led service enterprises and fostering public-private partnerships, FARM P3 intends to enhance productivity, improve market access, and reinforce the resilience of Zimbabwe’s food systems amid climate challenges.
Sorghum is a crucial drought-resilient crop in Zimbabwe, essential for food security and climate resilience. However, smallholder farmers face barriers such as labor-intensive processing, high post-harvest losses, and limited access to stable markets, as the grain often fails to meet quality standards. FARM P3 aims to address these issues by engaging private-sector partners and piloting mobile threshing and other mechanization services to reduce losses, increase yields, and link producer groups to formal off-takers and processors.
The one-year pilot will involve around 6,000 smallholder farmers in key sorghum-producing districts and identify about 50 mechanization service providers, including youth and lead farmers. These entrepreneurs will receive mentorship in developing viable business models, accessing finance, and integrating into structured value chains. Rather than directly delivering mechanization services, the pilot focuses on creating enabling conditions and identifying opportunities for effective service delivery.
Through this initiative, IFAD and its partners aim not only to test equipment that raises smallholder incomes but also to build sustainable business models involving buyers, financial institutions, youth entrepreneurs, and farmers. FARM P3 is designed to create jobs, make mechanization affordable and profitable, and establish a foundation for long-term scaling and resilience in Zimbabwe’s sorghum sector.
