Diplomacy

EZULWINI – Zimbabwe’s Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Monica Mutsvangwa, has called for greater inclusion of women across agricultural value chains.

The minister said  empowering women farmers is essential for economic growth, food security and social transformation across Africa.

Speaking at the Women’s Forum held at the first Africa–EU Parliamentary Assembly in Eswatini, Mutsvangwa said women remain central to African agriculture, but continue to face barriers to land ownership, finance, markets, technology and leadership opportunities.

Addressing parliamentarians, delegates and development partners from Africa and the European Union, the minister described the gathering as a defining moment in Africa–EU relations and the wider global movement for women’s empowerment.

“This forum comes at a critical time,” she said, noting that the event coincides with the United Nations International Year of the Women Farmer 2026.

According to Mutsvangwa, the international observance is more than a symbolic celebration of women’s contributions to agriculture. “It is a global call to action,” she said. “Governments, financial institutions, development partners and the private sector must close gender gaps, invest in women’s leadership and build inclusive and sustainable agri-food systems that leave no woman behind.”

She highlighted the pivotal role women play throughout agricultural systems, describing them as farmers, processors, traders, fishers, beekeepers, exporters, scientists and custodians of indigenous knowledge. Despite this, she said, women often remain concentrated in the least profitable stages of agricultural production while others benefit from the larger share of profits.

“They produce the food, but receive only a fraction of the final value,” Mutsvangwa said. “Women must not remain confined to the lowest levels of production. They must occupy strategic positions across the entire economic spectrum — from production to processing, financing, innovation, industrialisation, trade and participation in global markets.” Drawing on Zimbabwe’s liberation history, the minister linked women’s economic empowerment to the country’s struggle for independence.

“Women are not asking for charity. The Zimbabwean woman of today earned her freedom through struggle and sacrifice. She is not the product of the generosity of a condescending patriarchy,”she said.

Mutsvangwa, who described herself as a ‘daughter of the liberation struggle’, said the values of equality, dignity, justice and participation should shape modern African economies. In Zimbabwe, women make up nearly 60 per cent of the agricultural workforce, she said, carrying much of the responsibility for food production and sustaining rural livelihoods. “Investing in women’s control of agricultural value chains is a direct investment in the national economy,” she said.

The Africa–EU Parliamentary Assembly, established under the Samoa Agreement, aims to strengthen institutional cooperation between Africa and the European Union through shared development goals, inclusive growth and political partnership.

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Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Senator Pholile Shakantu received Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe. (Courtesy pic)