Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has approved a 10-year development strategy aimed at reshaping the country’s sugar industry into a more competitive, climate-resilient and value-driven sector while significantly expanding production and industrial output.
The Zimbabwe Sugarcane Industry Development Plan (2026–2035) was presented to Cabinet by Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Fredrick Shava in his capacity as Acting Chairperson of the Cabinet Committee on National Development Planning, New Zimbabwe reported.
The strategy is designed to increase productivity across the sugar sector, encourage climate-smart farming practices and create broader economic opportunities linked to sugarcane processing and downstream industries.
Under the plan, Zimbabwe aims to establish itself as a leading producer of sugarcane and sugarcane-based products by 2035 through greater diversification, industrial expansion and increased value addition.
Beyond conventional sugar production, the roadmap places strong emphasis on expanding ethanol manufacturing, renewable energy generation and industrial use of sugarcane by-products. Additional focus areas include production of bio-fertilisers, stock feed, bio-plastics and other products derived from molasses and bagasse.
According to the government, the strategy is intended to modernise the industry and improve long-term sustainability through investments in infrastructure, productivity enhancement, research, innovation and stronger collaboration between government institutions, private sector participants, development partners, academic institutions and local communities.
Officials expect the programme to strengthen the sugar sector’s contribution to economic growth, job creation and environmentally focused industrial development.
Implementation will be guided through seven strategic areas covering policy and regulatory reforms, productivity and climate resilience, product diversification, market and value chain expansion, research and technology development, inclusive participation of smallholder farmers and increased investment mobilisation.
The government said improved access to financing, expanded irrigation coverage and stronger institutional support are expected to increase sugarcane cultivation and improve yields.
Authorities also expect greater production efficiency to lower costs, improve competitiveness and strengthen Zimbabwe’s position in regional and international sugar markets.
Higher processing capacity is expected to support growth in ethanol output, increase export volumes and improve returns across the industry value chain.
As part of its 2035 targets, Zimbabwe plans to increase sugarcane yields from 81 metric tonnes per hectare to 110 metric tonnes per hectare.
Annual sugar production is projected to rise from 400,000 metric tonnes to 500,000 metric tonnes, while ethanol production is targeted to grow from 155 million litres to 600 million litres annually.
The strategy also aims to expand electricity generation linked to the sugar industry from 23 megawatts to 200 megawatts and double sugar exports from 100,000 metric tonnes to 200,000 metric tonnes per year.
