Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Govt moves to safeguard food reserves – herald

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke

Senior Reporter

GOVERNMENT is strengthening measures to safeguard national food security ahead of the projected El Niño weather phenomenon in the 2026/27 agricultural season, with the country expected to maintain a substantial strategic grain reserve following another strong harvest.

Zimbabwe is projected to record a strategic grain reserve surplus of between 550 945 tonnes and 964 945 tonnes following a successful 2025/26 summer cropping season.

Speaking at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda said grain stocks held by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) stood at 252 177 tonnes as of August 19, while deliveries during this marketing season were 126 percent higher than those from the same period last year.

“Cabinet notes with satisfaction that the increase in national maize output was driven by an increase in both productivity and hectarage, showing that initiatives under the Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2 are working as intended and targets are on course to be achieved,” he said.

The total area planted under maize increased by 8,2 percent from 1,81 million hectares in 2025 to 1,96 million hectares this year, while national production rose by 17,1 percent from 2,29 million tonnes to 2,68 million tonnes.

Minister Soda said winter wheat production was progressing well, with the planted area reaching 106 percent of the target, compared to 101 percent achieved during the same period last year.

He said barley had been planted on 7 013 hectares, while 243 850 tonnes of Irish potatoes were expected from the 9 000 hectares planted.

Tobacco production has also remained strong, with 358,4 million kilogrammes sold by August 18 at an average price of US$2,49 per kilogramme.

Minister Soda said cumulative tobacco exports reached 138,25 million kilogrammes by August 19, valued at US$791,85 million, representing a 39 percent increase in export volumes compared to the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, GMB had cleared all outstanding farmer payments for the 2024/25 marketing season, with mechanisms now in place to ensure timely payments for this season.

Responding to questions from journalists, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said Government remains committed to paying farmers as quickly as possible after grain deliveries, so they attend to obligations that they would have carried throughout the whole season.

He said authorities were exploring additional mechanisms to improve payment flows, including a proposed crop catchers’ buffer fund, warehouse receipt systems and arrangements that could enable farmers to offset certain utility bills against grain delivered to the GMB.

Government is also engaging financial institutions to allow farmers to use warehouse receipts as collateral for financing before receiving full payment for their grain.

“We are now negotiating with financial institutions that this asset called maize, now represented by the warehouse receipt, the farmer can actually borrow based on that without even receiving a payment upfront,” said Dr Masuka.

The measures come as authorities prepare for the possibility of adverse weather conditions linked to the anticipated El Niño phenomenon during the 2026/27 season. El Niño, characterised by abnormal warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, can disrupt rainfall patterns across Southern Africa and increase the likelihood of drought conditions.

Minister Masuka said Government had developed a comprehensive preparedness strategy based on lessons learnt from the severe drought experienced in 2024.

“One of the main pillars is an enhanced strategic grain reserve, where we aim to exit in a year at about 450 000 tonnes,” he said.

Minister Masuka said the reserve would enable Government to support vulnerable rural communities through social protection programmes while allowing the private sector to import maize where necessary for commercial milling and stockfeed requirements.

“We continue to monitor consumption; we continue to monitor supply, especially in the context of the predicted El Niño in 2026/27,” he said.

Minister Masuka said the Government will continue to track food supplies, consumption trends and weather developments to ensure the country remains adequately prepared for any climatic shocks.

The post Govt moves to safeguard food reserves appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Politburo convenes today – herald

Joseph Madzimure

Zimpapers Politics Hub

ZANU PF is set to hold its 396th Politburo meeting in Harare today, as the ruling party ramps up its logistical and organisational machinery ahead of its flagship annual event — the 23rd Annual National People’s Conference.

The conference is scheduled to take place in Chinhoyi, the provincial capital of Mashonaland West Province, a key political stronghold of the party.

The upcoming Politburo session was officially confirmed by ZANU PF Secretary for Information and Publicity, Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, who issued a formal statement to the press yesterday.

According to the communication, the party’s Secretary General, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, has formally notified all members of the imperative meeting.

“ZANU PF Secretary General Advocate Jacob Mudenda advises members of a Politburo meeting to be held this Wednesday, 26th August 2026, at 12:00 hours. The meeting will be held at the ZANU PF headquarters,” reads the statement in part.

All Politburo members must be seated by no later than 11.45am, the statement says.

The 396th sitting comes at a time when the party is expected to fine-tune its policy direction and mobilisation strategies in the run-up to the conference.

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Source: Agric Show official opening on Friday – herald

Wallace Ruzvidzo

Herald Reporter

NAMIBIAN President Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will officially open the 116th edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show in Harare on Friday.

This was officially revealed yesterday by Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka during a post-Cabinet media briefing.

“The President of the Republic of Namibia Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has graciously agreed to be the guest of honour at the official opening of the 116th edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show on Friday, I invite all of you,” said Dr Masuka.

About 640 exhibitors are displaying their products and services at the exhibition show, a 4,4 percent increase in exhibitors from those who participated last year.

All exhibition halls are fully subscribed at ZAS, which is running under the theme, “Powering Growth: Where Agriculture, Technology and Commerce Converge”.

Meanwhile, in fulfilment of Zimbabwe’s international multi-lateral obligations, Cabinet considered and approved a request for the country to undertake its Fourth Voluntary National Review on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the 2027 United Nations High Level Political Forum, which was presented by the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Edgar Moyo.

“Zimbabwe will undertake its Fourth Voluntary National Review on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and present the progress Review at the 2027 United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and is the global blueprint for eradicating poverty, protecting the planet and promoting inclusive and sustainable prosperity by 2030,” said Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda.

Regular and inclusive Voluntary National Reviews assess progress in implementing the SDGs, identifying challenges and emerging priorities, sharing lessons learnt and strengthening Policy implementation.

In the spirit of the Whole-of-Society Approach, Minister Soda called on all citizens to accord the Voluntary National Review process priority as the country’s principal national reporting mechanism on implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The post Agric Show official opening on Friday appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

NEW YORK — American banking giant Citigroup sees Zimbabwe breaking with the past as a poster child of triple-digit inflation and fiscal indiscipline, flagging an economic turnaround that could mark a decisive shift in the country’s long-running cycle of monetary instability and economic crisis.

The assessment places Zimbabwe among a group of emerging markets where improving macroeconomic management is beginning to change the investment narrative, after years in which the country was synonymous with currency collapses, runaway inflation, fiscal deficits and exclusion from international capital markets.

The change is being reinforced by a combination of tighter monetary policy, improved fiscal management, stronger commodity exports and a more stable foreign-exchange market. Zimbabwe’s recent economic performance has been sufficiently strong for the International Monetary Fund to describe the country as having made “much-needed stability” gains, with inflation falling into single digits and growth accelerating.

Citi’s broader 2026 outlook has identified resilience, moderating inflation and improving macroeconomic conditions as important features of the global economy, while stressing that emerging-market opportunities are increasingly differentiated by the quality of individual countries’ fundamentals and policy frameworks.

For Zimbabwe, that distinction is significant.

The country spent more than two decades effectively shut out of international capital markets and most official financing, while successive episodes of monetary instability eroded domestic savings and undermined confidence in the local currency. The IMF says Zimbabwe is now attempting to establish a credible policy track record as part of a broader strategy to resolve its external arrears, restructure its debt and re-engage with international creditors.

The turnaround is being supported by a combination of strong mining activity, an agricultural recovery and favourable commodity prices. The IMF estimates that the economy grew 8.3% in 2025 and expects growth of about 5% this year, while inflation is projected to remain in single digits.

Fiscal policy has also begun to move in a direction that would have been difficult to imagine during Zimbabwe’s worst years of monetary instability. According to the IMF, fiscal performance through March was stronger than expected, supported by robust revenue collection and conservative budget execution, while the authorities met all quantitative targets under the first review of the 2026 Staff-Monitored Program.

The significance of that shift extends beyond headline economic statistics.

For investors, the central question is whether Zimbabwe can convert temporary stabilisation into institutional credibility.

The government is seeking to demonstrate that expenditure can be contained within approved budgets, monetary expansion can be controlled, foreign-exchange markets can function with fewer distortions and fiscal risks from state-owned enterprises and other public entities can be brought under tighter management.

The IMF has explicitly warned that maintaining policy discipline, strengthening public financial management, improving governance and advancing monetary and exchange-rate reforms will be critical if recent gains are to become durable.

That leaves Zimbabwe at an important inflection point.

The country is no longer simply trying to stop an economic crisis. It is attempting to establish the credibility required to attract capital back into an economy that has spent years operating largely outside conventional international financial markets.

A sustained improvement in macroeconomic stability could therefore have implications well beyond inflation. It could lower the risk premium attached to Zimbabwean assets, improve domestic investment conditions, support the development of local capital markets and eventually make the country more investible for international institutions.

But the transformation remains incomplete.

Zimbabwe still carries a substantial external debt burden, remains in arrears to international creditors and faces structural weaknesses ranging from limited domestic financial intermediation to infrastructure constraints and persistent confidence problems around the currency.

The IMF’s latest assessment makes clear that debt resolution and arrears clearance remain central to the country’s re-engagement agenda.

For Citi and other international investors watching emerging markets, however, the important development may be that Zimbabwe’s economic story is beginning to acquire a different vocabulary.

Instead of hyperinflation, the discussion is increasingly about disinflation.

Instead of uncontrolled fiscal expansion, the emphasis is on expenditure discipline.

Instead of persistent foreign-exchange instability, policymakers are talking about rebuilding reserves and creating a more market-based currency regime.

And instead of economic collapse, the debate is increasingly about whether stabilisation can be converted into sustained growth.

That does not mean Zimbabwe has escaped its past. It means the country may finally be demonstrating that its past does not have to determine its economic future.

For a country once defined in global financial circles by monetary disorder, that change in perception could prove almost as important as the economic numbers themselves.

The post American banking giant sees Zimbabwe breaking with its inflationary past as economic turnaround gathers pace appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.

LOS ANGELES — Dr. Dre has thrown his weight behind artificial intelligence in music, arguing that artists who view the technology as an existential threat may simply be struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing creative landscape.

The legendary producer has emerged as one of hip-hop’s most prominent advocates for experimenting with AI in music production, taking a markedly different position from artists who fear the technology could undermine human creativity, copyright and artistic identity.

According to AllHipHop.com, Dre is not merely commenting from the sidelines. The veteran producer has been actively experimenting with AI and sees the technology as another tool that can expand the creative possibilities available to musicians.

In comments reported by The New York Times, Dre rejected the idea that AI represents an inherent threat to music.

“I don’t see it as a threat. I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating,” Dre said.

His argument places AI in the same historical continuum as technologies that initially unsettled the music industry but eventually became essential to modern production.

Dre and longtime business partner Jimmy Iovine have compared the current resistance to AI with earlier opposition to drum machines, synthesisers and other technologies that fundamentally altered the way music was produced.

Iovine has also described himself as strongly supportive of AI-assisted music creation, arguing that the technology should be incorporated into production rather than automatically treated as an enemy.

A growing divide in hip-hop

Dre’s position places him on the opposite side of an increasingly contentious debate involving some of the industry’s biggest artists.

SZA, in particular, has been outspoken about the risks posed by AI after discovering that hundreds of her songs had reportedly been used to train AI models without her consent.

The singer has criticised AI-generated music that draws heavily from Black musical traditions while reproducing what she sees as stereotypical interpretations of Black artists and their struggles.

Her concerns reflect a broader anxiety within the music industry: that artificial intelligence could be trained on artists’ work without permission and subsequently generate competing music that imitates their voices, styles or creative identities.

The dispute is therefore no longer simply about whether AI can make music. It is increasingly about who owns the underlying creative material, who controls an artist’s likeness and voice, and who gets paid when artificial intelligence learns from existing music.

Timbaland takes the plunge

Interestingly, Timbaland — one of the producers cited by Iovine as actively experimenting with AI — has gone considerably further than simply using the technology as a production aid.

He has launched Stage Zero, an AI-focused entertainment company, and introduced an AI artist known as TaTa Taktumi.

The move illustrates the radically different approaches emerging within hip-hop. While some artists regard AI as a potential threat to human creativity, others are attempting to become early participants in what they believe could become a new entertainment industry.

T.I. has also shifted his position on the technology. After initially describing AI as dangerous, he reportedly reconsidered his stance following a conversation with Dre.

The music industry’s uneasy embrace

The debate has also forced the major record companies to reconsider their relationship with AI.

Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music initially pursued legal action against AI music companies Suno and Udio over alleged copyright infringement. But the industry’s strategy subsequently began shifting towards licensing and commercial partnerships.

Rather than attempting to stop AI music altogether, the major labels increasingly appear to be seeking ways to control, license and monetise the technology.

That change reflects the growing scale of AI-generated music.

According to data cited by AllHipHop.com, Deezer estimates that approximately 50,000 fully AI-generated tracks are uploaded to streaming platforms every day, while research suggests that most listeners struggle to reliably distinguish AI-generated music from human-created recordings.

That development presents an enormous challenge for streaming services, artists and chart compilers.

If listeners cannot reliably determine whether a song was created by a human or generated substantially by AI, questions inevitably arise over royalties, chart eligibility and the value attached to human creativity.

The battle over the charts

The issue has already reached the music industry’s most visible institutions.

Major record labels have proposed principles requiring songs to contain substantial human involvement to qualify for major music charts. Yet AI-generated artists have continued to make their way onto the charts, demonstrating how quickly the technology is moving beyond experimentation.

For Dre, however, the answer appears to be adaptation rather than resistance.

His position is particularly significant because few figures in hip-hop possess his combination of creative credibility, production expertise and commercial influence. From his work with N.W.A. and his solo career to his production partnerships and Beats empire, Dre has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to recognise technological and cultural shifts before they become mainstream.

The AI debate may therefore represent another defining technological transition for music.

The central question is no longer whether artificial intelligence will enter the studio. It already has.

The battle now is over whether artists will use it as another creative instrument, whether corporations will control its commercial infrastructure, and whether the music industry can establish rules that protect human creators without shutting down technological innovation.

Dre’s message is unmistakable: embrace the technology, learn how to use it and create with it — rather than fear what it might become.

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