• Zimbabwe’s sovereign fund Mutapa obtained $125 million from Afreximbank.
• Funds will cover raw materials for fertilizer production in the 2025/2026 season.
• Fertilizer demand is tied to maize, tobacco, and cotton as Zimbabwe targets higher yields.

Zimbabwe’s Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF), the state sovereign wealth fund, has secured a $125 million facility from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support fertilizer production and supply for the 2025/2026 farming season.

The announcement was made on September 23 by Tatenda Chimusoro, head of Agriculture and Industry at MIF, according to ZBC News. He said the facility will be used to acquire raw materials required for fertilizer production.

In 2024, Zimbabwe spent nearly $331 million on fertilizer imports, according to data compiled on the Trade Map platform.

The main crops requiring chemical fertilizers in the country include maize, tobacco, and cotton. For the 2025/2026 season, the government aims to double national maize output to 2.52 million tons, up from 1.3 million tons harvested in the previous season.

According to the FAO, fertilizer consumption per hectare of arable land in Zimbabwe stood at 33.3 kg in 2023—82% above the Sub-Saharan African average of 18.2 kg but still well below the global average of 134.2 kg.