Harare— For years, smallholder farmer Rudo Mbeki would wake before dawn, walk 15 kilometres to the nearest town, and wait hours in line just to deposit her maize earnings. More often than not, she returned home with cash still stuffed in a plastic bag—risking theft, loss, or rot from the rain.

That punishing reality may soon be history.

The Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) and Empower Bank have signed a Memorandum of Agreement that promises to tear down the barriers keeping millions of rural farmers, especially women and youth, locked out of the formal banking system.

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Under the deal, ZFU will act as an agent for Empower Bank, using its vast network of decentralised offices to bring financial services directly to the farm gate.

No more long journeys. No more collateral nightmares. No more cash stashed under the mattress.

“This facility will enable farmers to be formally involved in business,” said Paul Zakariya, ZFU secretary general, after the signing. “We are excited because of this initiative. We commit to ensuring our offices throughout the country will be used for this purpose.”

The timing is critical. Zimbabwe is entering the marketing season, when farmers sell their harvest and desperately need secure payment systems. Many have insisted on cash simply because they lack bank accounts—a vulnerability that has led to robberies, extortion, and loss.

“If one has a bank account, they are paid directly. It is convenient, efficient, and minimises known risks,” Zakariya added.

Empower Bank’s acting chief executive, Christopher Mwerenga—represented at the signing by head of business development Enodiuos Makiwa—acknowledged that the bank currently operates in only five of Zimbabwe’s ten provinces. Within those, district coverage is patchy at best.

“This partnership enables Empower Bank to leverage the structures of ZFU to distribute its products to the entire population, particularly in rural areas,” Makiwa said. “Most of these smallholder farmers also happen to be youth, which falls into our mandate.”

The bank has already designed specialised products for vulnerable groups. One facility, the ZADT Causeway facility—developed with the Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust (ZADT)—targets women and youth in agriculture, excluding tobacco and cotton. Another, ZADT Ignite, focuses on young entrepreneurs in agriculture, solar energy, and paper and waste recycling.

Farmers can access loans in cash or as farming inputs and machinery.

Crucially, ZFU operations director Dr Prince Kuipa said there are no complicated requirements to become bankable. “Our role is to bring the bank closer to the farmer, who is our member. Now farmers can be paid in the comfort of their homes.”

He described the initiative as a bridge over Zimbabwe’s deep digital divide. “A farmer no longer has to physically walk to a shop and carry cash. They can swipe. They can even buy goods online.”

For thousands of smallholder farmers—long ignored by traditional lenders demanding collateral they do not own—that future cannot come soon enough.