Zimbabwe Smallholder Farmers Raise Climate Change Concerns, Call for Stronger Policy Action

Smallholder farmers across Zimbabwe have called on policymakers to strengthen climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, warning that changing weather patterns, land degradation and human-wildlife conflicts are increasingly threatening their livelihoods.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), approximately 90 percent of farms worldwide are family-owned and operated, with most located in rural areas. In Zimbabwe, women account for approximately 70 percent of small-scale farmers, making them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Against this background, organisations such as the Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF) are mobilising smallholder farmers to participate in climate action and mitigation efforts through engagement with various stakeholders, including policymakers, to ensure the country effectively responds to the devastating effects of climate change.

Recently, ZIMSOFF convened a policy dialogue on climate change attended by members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committees on Agriculture and Environment, alongside officials from relevant government ministries.

During the meeting and on its sidelines, smallholder farmers drawn from across the country raised concerns over the growing impact of climate change on their livelihoods.

An elderly woman farmer from Matabeleland South said her community was experiencing clashes between farming activities and mining, with artisanal miners threatening their access to ancestral land.

"Our ancestral land is facing threats from artisanal mining as the miners can just come and tell you it's now a mining claim. Many times we don't have control over this," said the distraught farmer.

Jane Mujuru, a young woman farmer from Juru in Murehwa, bemoaned the expansion of Juru Growth Point, which she said was resulting in the loss of their grazing land.

She said policymakers were letting farmers down by allowing urban sprawl to continue unabated at a time when the effects of climate change were becoming increasingly severe.

"We are very concerned that our pastures are going at an alarming rate as construction of houses in Juru is increasing. At the same time, we had our preserved wetlands which we would turn to during drier times, but they are fast disappearing because of human settlement, thus making us lose the fight against climate change," she revealed.

In Chipinge, human-wildlife conflicts are also worsening as the effects of climate change deepen. According to Sibongile Mucheche from Checheche, policymakers should introduce measures that guarantee the safety of communities living alongside wildlife.

"Our area is reeling from the effects of climate change as human-wildlife conflicts continue to soar. Our plea is for policymakers to prioritise our safety first because often we are told to only report after wildlife attacks and encouraged to live harmoniously with wild animals," bemoaned Mucheche.

Acting chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environment and Mwenezi East legislator, Master Makope, assured farmers that Parliament was working to ensure policies and legislation were put in place to address changing weather patterns and improve the resilience of smallholder farmers.

"As we gather here in Harare today, on Thursday, the 5th of November 2026, we do not need to look at academic journals to understand the reality of climate change. Our farmers live it every day.

"You feel it in the shifting rains, the prolonged dry spells and the unpredictable weather patterns that challenge our traditional farming calendars. Yet, despite these hardships, smallholder farmers remain the beating heart of Zimbabwe's food security, our culture and our rural economy.

"My message to you today is clear: Policies and legislation that have been put in place to deal with the climate crisis must begin by stating that policy on paper must serve the farmer on the ground," MP Makope said.

He highlighted that the Climate Change Management Bill, which is expected to be signed into law, contains provisions aimed at reducing vulnerabilities to climate change while opening up opportunities for green investments.

Acting chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Zaka North legislator, Ophias Murambiwa, acknowledged that smallholder farmers needed access to climate information and appropriate technologies to help them respond to climate change.

He also challenged policymakers to ensure that women were involved in decision-making processes on climate-related issues, noting that they were among the most affected by its impacts.

Meanwhile, Zimsoff acting national coordinator , Gladman Chibememe, who attended the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, representing smallholder farmers, said governments had committed to recognising smallholder farmers as rights holders, knowledge holders and biodiversity partners.

The environmentalist, however, cautioned that these commitments could only become meaningful if governments, including Zimbabwe, translated them into concrete action through effective implementation.

ZIMSOFF works to promote agroecology, climate-resilient farming practices and seed sovereignty, empowering smallholder farmers to preserve indigenous seeds, protect biodiversity and strengthen their control over local food systems.

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