Mashonaland West Province’s agriculture sector is a central pillar of its economy, supported by vast arable land, favourable climatic conditions, extensive water bodies, and a strong base of more than 225,000 farmers, the majority being smallholders. The sector contributed 14.83% to the Provincial GDP in 2024. The province has 387,000 ha of cleared arable land and 35,000 ha under functional irrigation, with capacity to expand to above 50,000 ha. Key crops include maize, wheat, tobacco, soyabeans, citrus and horticulture, with notable production increases in wheat (33.6% growth) and tobacco (35.6% growth) between 2021 and 2023, helped by improved input distribution, contract farming, and decentralised markets. The livestock sector is also expanding, registering 5.2% cattle growth and 10.8% goat population growth, supported by university-led breeding programmes and government animal health interventions. Overall, the sector’s outputs are strengthened by solid infrastructure, including 19 GMB depots, major silos such as the country’s renowned Lions’ Den facility, and two stock-feed processing plants.
The province offers significant room for agricultural expansion through targeted investment in value addition, irrigation development, mechanisation, and climate-smart innovations. Opportunities highlighted in the Agriculture Investment Profile include establishing aggregation and cold chain centres to support horticulture, modernising farming operations through machinery leasing schemes, revitalising irrigation systems around major dams such as Mazvikadei, Mamina, and Biri-Manyame, and expanding contract farming for cereals, horticulture, and tobacco. Additional prospects lie in fish farming, agro-processing industries (grain milling, stockfeed manufacturing, citrus processing, textile revival), and assembly of agricultural implements. These investments aim to transform agriculture into a high-productivity, commercially oriented sector capable of boosting rural incomes, strengthening food and nutrition security, and contributing meaningfully to the provincial GDP and national Vision 2030 goals.