The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the Governments of Zimbabwe and Mozambique with financial support from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), convened a high‑level policy dialogue at the ongoing Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) to accelerate the transition of Sesame, Macadamia and Tomato value chains from informal trading to competitive, export‑oriented agro‑industrial performance.
Hosted on the sidelines of ongoing ZITF, an established international platform for deal‑making, policy dialogue and investment networking, FAO’s side event was designed to directly advance the agenda of the Zimbabwe–Mozambique Agriculture Value Chain&Trade Development Project (Zim–Moza ATDP). The project focuses on agricultural value chain development and trade facilitation between the two countries, targeting macadamia, sesame, and tomato value chains.
The project aims to accelerate agrifood systems transformation, promote smallholder farmer integration into global value chains, and foster sustainable economic growth. It emphasizes formalizing trade, reducing non-tariff barriers, and promoting private sector investment in aggregation, processing, and logistics. Funded to the tune of 3.5 million Euros by the Italian government through AICS, the project will be implemented in three years.
The ZITF 2026 is being convened under the theme “Connected Economies, Competitive Industries,” reinforcing the importance of regional integration and trade connectivity, precisely the enabling environment the Zim–Moza ATDP is positioning for along the Beira Corridor and broader regional markets.
“ZITF brings the right stakeholders into one place, including farmers, regulators, buyers, financiers and logistics actors, so we can move from fragmented informal trade to structured, traceable value chains that reward quality, unlock export markets and attract investment,” said Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa.
The Zim–Moza ATDP project is one of two transboundary initiatives jointly launched by Zimbabwe and Mozambique with support from Italy government through AICS and technical coordination by FAO. Together with the Transboundary Integrated Sustainable Management of Miombo Woodlands Project, the programmes represent an integrated approach linking sustainable landscapes with inclusive economic growth between the two countries.
Within this context, the Zim–Moza ATDP specifically targets key constraints holding back Zimbabwe–Mozambique cross‑border agricultural trade, including informality, weak buyer–seller linkages, limited SPS/quality compliance capacity, high transaction costs, and gaps in aggregation and post‑harvest systems.
“When trade is organized, through farmer aggregation, reliable quality verification, and predictable compliance processes, sesame becomes an export earner rather than a crop pushed through informal routes,” said Maria Cabral Mozambique’s National Project Coordinator reflecting on the importance of adopting tested approaches to strengthen transparency and competitiveness in Zimbabwe–Mozambique trade corridors. This message echoed the broader emphasis across discussions, that is, formalization is not paperwork for its own sake, but a route to stable markets, fairer prices, and improved access to finance.
The side event was strategically designed to move stakeholders from shared policy intent to practical action, combining high‑level framing with grounded field realities and investment‑focused dialogue. It opened with scene‑setting remarks from FAO and partners to align participants on the Zim–Moza ATDP objectives and the opportunity presented by ZITF as a strategic trade and investment platform. The discourse then deliberately brought in farmer experiences segment to anchor the conversation in real production and market constraints.
The programme then moved into a moderated panel and interactive question and answer to unpack key bottlenecks, especially SPS and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) compliance, quality standards, structured markets, and financing, helping buyers, processors, financiers, regulators and service providers agree on practical steps to make macadamia, sesame and tomatoes export‑ready.
“Export competitiveness starts with systems, traceability, standards enforcement, predictable trade rules and logistics, because markets finance and reward what they can verify,” Gift Mugano, one of the policy dialogue panellists from the Africa Economic Development Strategies.
Panelists emphasized that transforming macadamia, sesame and tomato value chains into competitive, export‑ready sectors hinges on formalization, traceability and enforceable market rules. Discussions highlighted the need to register farmers and buyers, strengthen contract enforcement and dispute resolution, and build structured market platforms that reduce side‑marketing while improving price transparency and fairness.
In parallel, speakers repeatedly framed standards, grading and SPS compliance as non‑negotiable enablers for trade, arguing that compliance should be treated as an investment that unlocks higher‑value markets rather than as a cost burden. These points align closely with the side event’s focus on promoting structured cross‑border trade and strengthening institutional collaboration around compliance systems and market access.
A second cluster of issues focused on where value is lost before products ever reach export channels, namely productivity gaps, post‑harvest losses and weak logistics. Panelists also noted that farmers often meet basic safety expectations but lack adequate support on handling, packaging and cross‑border requirements, which pushes some trade into informal routes. They also stressed that low yields relative to varietal potential and poor post‑harvest systems, especially for perishables like tomatoes, drive distress selling during gluts and losses from spoilage, making cold chain, aggregation centres and coordinated logistics critical investments.
Finally, discussions underscored the importance of investment‑enabling finance and partnerships, including blended finance approaches, risk mitigation and buyer/processor engagement, to scale value addition and stabilize trade flows across the corridor.
FAO and partners will carry forward commitments emerging from the policy dialogue side event through targeted follow‑up actions, including technical engagements on formalizing sesame trade, stronger compliance capacity support (SPS/quality systems), and investment matchmaking for aggregation, processing and logistics solutions. The Zim-Moza ATDP project will also continue convening public‑private platforms to translate policy dialogue into operational improvements across the macadamia, sesame and tomato value chains.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Office for Africa.
