THE government is calling for increased private bank investment into agriculture, the nation’s economic backbone, while scaling up finance schemes to mitigate lending risks.
Speaking at the launch of the 2025-2026 summer agricultural season in Harare yesterday, Agriculture deputy minister Vangelis Haritatos said there was a critical need to improve capital access for farmers.
The launch was co-organised by the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show and The Financial Gazette in partnership with the ministry of Agriculture and anchored by the Mutapa Investment Fund and NMBZ.
“My ministry recognises that financing production is the fuel of transformation. Therefore, in collaboration with Treasury, the AFC, and private partnerships, we are scaling up blended financing models to de-risk lending, promoting value chain financing led by agro-processors, and introducing tailored insurance products to protect farmers from climate-related issues and losses.
“This ensures every farmer, from smallholder to commercial, can access capital needed to adopt technologies and improve productivity,” he said.
Haritatos praised the domestic banking industry for gradually increasing its participation in agriculture after years of limited involvement, pointing to NMB Bank as a key example that had recently deepened its agricultural portfolio.
“Three to four years ago, NMB was not really involved much in the agriculture sector, but today it’s a thing of the past,” he said.
Haritatos argued that agriculture presented a compelling business case for banks, noting, “from a business point of view, how can you not get involved in the agriculture sector? We are an agriculture-based economy”.
However, he cautioned that the sector needed to maintain a supportive policy framework.
“That does not mean that we must take our banks for granted. We have to provide an enabling environment for the banks to come into that space, and I believe this is what we have done,” the deputy minister said.
He issued a direct plea to the institutions.
“More and more banks are coming up with more and more schemes of support, and that is what we want to encourage. We cannot do this without the banking sector,” Haritatos said.
Historically, financial institutions have been reluctant to accept the 99-year leases issued to resettled farmers in 2006 as collateral for loans.
To address this, the government introduced the Presidential Title Deeds Programme.
This initiative was designed to convert 99-year leases, along with offer letters and permits, into bankable, registrable, and transferable deeds of ownership, thereby unlocking credit access for farmers.
However, this programme has yet to achieve widespread acceptance from the banking sector.
Speaking at the same event, NMB Bank divisional executive Erasmus Bhunu stressed the need for innovation in banking services to broaden access to credit for smallholder farmers.
“It’s one area that as market players and finance players, we need to really work on to ensure that we adopt it and ensure that the services and the needs and information that allows all the segments in the farming community to access financing,” he said.
Bhunu indicated that digital platforms, data driven lending, and alternative credit assessment tools could help bridge the financing gap.
“Critical to it is that the traditional banking model is being continuously challenged.
“That model, largely relying on collateral, will not take us far in terms of developing our agricultural space.
“I think the agriculture segment is our biggest portfolio in the bank.
“Three years ago, we were not very much involved in that space. It’s one of our largest portfolios right now, one of our best performing portfolios right now, and even when you look at the number of bad loans, it’s one of the best portfolios, almost close to zero,” he said.
Over the years, NMB has deployed in excess of US$50 million to farmers.
The push to increase funding comes as authorities seek to boost productivity and resilience following a series of climate shocks.
The Zimbabwe Agricultural Society called on financiers and all partners to ensure the country sources agricultural inputs successfully each season.
Forecasts of normal to above-normal rainfall this cropping season are expected to boost the country’s economy.