Sweet Potatoes Power Zaka’s Rural Economic Transformation

Sweet potatoes are emerging as a powerful driver of rural transformation in Zaka District, with the area cementing its position as Masvingo Province’s hub of sweet potato production.

In Ward 3, Chimedza, Ndanga, Mrs Wakurawarebwa Tsitsidzashe’s two-hectare sweet potato enterprise harvested 15 tonnes this season, generating more than US$3,000 in sales so far. 

The proceeds have enabled her family to build a modern home, install solar power, drill a borehole and support her children’s education.

Her success reflects a wider agricultural revolution in Masvingo, where sweet potato production has expanded from 5,621 hectares to about 7,200 hectares, with around 90,000 farmers now producing the crop.

Masvingo Provincial Agriculture Director Mr Caleb Mahoya said sweet potatoes offer farmers a low-cost, high-return and climate-smart enterprise, particularly as Zimbabwe prepares for possible dry conditions.

 He added that Government’s Presidential Sweet Potato Vine Distribution Programme, which supplied about 4,24 million virus-free vines, has accelerated production and productivity.

With growing markets and opportunities in value addition, sweet potatoes are proving that agriculture remains a powerful pathway to rural prosperity, food security and economic empowerment.