While climate change and low rainfall have of late been blamed for Binga’s poor crop yields, CITE has established that the shortage of agriculture extension (Agritex) officers and their incapacitation are major contributing factors.
Binga District Agritex Officer, Pedias Midzi Ndlovu revealed that they have 50 Agritex officers, two-thirds of the minimum required number. Binga has 25 wards.
“For now, we have 50 Agritex officers and each ward now has at least two,” he said. “However, according to the establishment we should have at least three per ward. We are however very grateful because not so long ago two wards were serviced by one Agritex officer.”
Agritex officers could play a key role in Zimbabwe’s farming value chain, in equipping smallholder farmers with the knowledge and guidance required to improve productivity. However, due to several challenges bedevilling the department, housed in the Ministry of Agriculture, workers are not fulfilling their role as per the public’s expectations.
Agritex workers, according to Action Aid Zimbabwe (AAZ), experience limited operational resources like transport to reach farmers, lack of appropriate technology, and in-service training for agriculture practices such as agroecology which are alternatives to addressing food insecurity because of climate change.
“Adequate technical and financial support is therefore important in ensuring sustained productivity of the smallholder farmers whose livelihoods depend on agriculture,” said AAZ.
“For Zimbabwe to deal with a looming food crisis, addressing the issue of decent working conditions for public sector workers and investing in continuous professional development for agriculture sector workers should be prioritised by the government. A motivated agriculture extension worker will contribute to quality service delivery to smallholder farmers.”
One Agritex officer told CITE that their remuneration was the biggest challenge.
“A diploma holder in the ministry is paid less than what a general hand is getting in the Ministry of Health,” said the officer.
Another Agritex officer said while the government provided motor cycles they were not getting fuel regularly something which affects their mobility and ability to reach out to all corners of the ward.
“Motorbikes are not serviced and as we speak right now some of our bikes are grounded. Some wards are even understaffed. Under normal circumstances, there should be at least three Agritex officers per ward but as it stands most wards have two each.”
He, however, said challenges faced by Agritex officers were not that a big issue as far as drought in Binga is concerned, adding that during the rainy season they meet with farmers almost every day.
“The main challenge with Binga number 1, is we get the inputs very late considering our season length,” he bemoaned.
“Intwasa (government-supported conservation farming) is not realising its intended goal in that while farmers prepare their land in advance they get the inputs late.”
With regards to farmer training and their technical expertise, he said they have master farmer training, covering both crop and animal science and farmer field school training.
“To a certain extent we have access to information on modern farming technology when the Department sends us internet bundles,” he said.
“However, I can’t remember when we last had those bundles if not almost a year now. In the past season when the rainfall prediction showed that there would be less rain, we encouraged farmers to grow sorghum and millet but unfortunately, the same crops were also wiped away by the heat.”
Fatima Mudenda, a Binga farmer said Agritex officers were training lead farmers who would then train the rest of the farmers ahead of the start of the cropping season.
“In my group we as lead farmers we are 10,” he said. “After that, we will then invite 13 village heads and their people and train them. We are very happy with our interactions with Agritex officers. Our prayer is that we get the seed in time. We would like a situation whereby when we get the seed our Agritex officers are on the ground to teach us how to sow it and come back to us during the weeding time to give the necessary guidance.”
According to a 2021 study by the African Seed Access Index (Tasai), in partnership with the Zimbabwe Seed Association (ZSA), Zimbabwe’s 4 727 extension workers employed by the government were, however, overstretched, with each one catering for an average of 483 farmers. The same study also revealed that the country’s extension officers did not possess the requisite modern skills, technical expertise, and practical experience required to drive the agricultural sector.
A research paper titled: “Evolution of Agricultural Extension in Zimbabwe: Emerging Technologies, Training Needs and Future Possibilities” published this year in the South African Journal of Agricultural Extension confirmed this lack of adequate skills saying that the development needs of smallholder farmers have often been overlooked during the delivery of agricultural information due to a lack of curriculum reform and gaps between agricultural extension officers’ (AEOs) training and farmers’ changing needs.
“Findings from our study reported an urgent need for Agricultural Extension curriculum reform and the availability of information on markets and the adoption of new technologies, including the use of chemicals in high-value crops,” reads the paper in part.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) Matabeleland North chairperson, Busani Khumalo, said sometimes Agritex deployed inappropriate officers.
“Sometimes you find that the only available Agritex officer specialized in agronomy and cannot cater to livestock farmers effectively,” he said.
However, Agritex officers dismissed that saying they are equipped to support both livestock and crop farmers. They do not, however, cover animal health because this falls under the Department of Veterinary Services.
Khumalo also said that there was a knowledge gap in terms of the size of land to be put under crops as some farmers failed to manage large areas that they would have ploughed.
Similar sentiments were expressed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). It said there is little information on how many farmers Agritex it is actually reaching and servicing.
“The extension agency offers a blanket public good service, which farmers are expected to use,” says FAO.
“Large-scale commercial farmers perceive Agritex as generally not competent to provide advisory services to their subsector. The majority of these farmers rely on support services from private agro-based companies”
In June 2022, AAZ called upon the government to ensure that its policies, resources, and priorities were channelled towards agriculture extension services support for the country to be food secure in the face of climate change and an economic crisis.
Right now 5 000 villagers in Binga are receiving food aid and cash transfers under the government-sponsored food deficit mitigation strategy.
Zimbabwe’s food balance sheet for March 2025 indicated that 6.2 million out of 9.2 million people in the rural areas require assistance up to March next year.
Khumalo says the shortage of food in Binga can be resolved easily because farmers take advice from Agritex seriously. All that is required is to deploy enough officers and give them enough resources to do their work.
This story is published under the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe Investigative Journalism Fund with support from Action Aid Zimbabwe under the Partnership for Social Accountability Program.
