Zimbabwe Targets Agric, Mining & Tourism Growth to Boost Trade & Investment Ties With Australia

Australia - Zimbabwe is expanding irrigation, mining value addition and tourism as part of efforts to attract foreign direct investment and strengthen trade ties with Australia and the wider African region, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Australia Joe Tapera Mhishi has said.

Speaking on trade and investment opportunities, the Ambassador said agriculture remains the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy, supported by irrigation development and farm mechanisation programmes aimed at reducing reliance on rainfall. 

“Zimbabwe has 10 provinces and in each one of these provinces a dam construction project is underway so that we can carry out irrigation so that we do not continue to be subjected to the vagaries of the weather,” he said.

He said the irrigation infrastructure would allow year-round farming and help Zimbabwe regain its status as a regional food producer.

“In the next five years, Zimbabwe again will be the breadbasket of Africa as it was traditionally called,” he said. 

The ambassador said Zimbabwe had recorded growth in agriculture in recent years, including maize exports to drought-hit Malawi and surplus wheat production for the first time in the country’s history.

He added that Zimbabwe was expanding horticulture exports such as blueberries, citrus, avocados and macadamia nuts.

Turning to mining, he said Zimbabwe holds significant mineral resources including lithium, platinum, gold, chrome and nickel, and is focusing on value addition rather than exporting raw minerals.

“We believe we're not going to be shipping raw materials as we've been doing in the past, because we're now developing a capacity to value add and enter the global value chain,” he said. 

Ambassador Mhishi said Zimbabwe was seeking partnerships with international investors, including Australian mining companies, particularly in lithium and other critical minerals used in renewable energy technologies.

The ambassador highlighted Zimbabwe’s participation in regional trade blocs and the African Continental Free Trade Area, saying companies investing in Zimbabwe could access duty-free regional markets.

“One of the beauties or advantages of Australian corporate bodies doing business in Zimbabwe is that once they set up shop there, they enjoy the duty-free access to the regional market,” he said.

Zimbabwe is positioning itself as an industrial hub in Southern Africa, he said, citing large steel and infrastructure projects expected to support regional development.

The ambassador further promoted tourism opportunities, including Victoria Falls, wildlife tourism and water-based tourism at Lake Kariba and Tugwi Mukosi Dam.

“The Victoria Falls is iconic, but it offers an experience that is unmatched elsewhere,” he said.

He added that Zimbabwe was also promoting educational cooperation and academic exchanges between Zimbabwean and Australian Universities to strengthen people-to-people relations. 

He said Zimbabwe was open for business and seeking long-term partnerships in agriculture, mining, tourism, education and trade.