Zimbabwe eyes 575 percent cotton surge for 2025
Zimbabwe plans to harvest 189,000 tonnes of cotton in the 2025/26 growing season after production fell to just 28,700 tonnes last year. The government will support farmers across 270,000 hectares through its Pfumvudza program and private financing to reverse the sharp decline. Officials commemorate World Cotton Day on Thursday in Harare under the theme Cotton: The Fabric of Our Lives.
Authorities require improved seed varieties and farming methods to raise yields that remain below profitable levels. The Agricultural Marketing Authority will register all cotton producers and merchants through a digital system to prevent contract violations. Each farmer must work with a single buyer to eliminate side marketing that has undermined the industry.
The government outlined three reform priorities: legal enforcement, increased productivity, and value-added manufacturing of finished textiles. Farmers receiving subsidized supplies must deliver 50 kilograms to the state as repayment. The Cotton Research Institute will develop climate-adapted techniques while a price stabilization fund protects grower income from market fluctuations.
