ARDA Boss Mhiko Named Best Performing State Enterprise CEO

By Lemuel Chekai

The Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA), Tinotenda Mhiko, has once again been recognised for his leadership after being named the Overall Best Performer among CEOs of Commercial State-Owned Enterprises under the President’s Award for Performance Excellence.

Mhiko received the accolade during the Performance Contracts Signing and Awards Ceremony held at the Harare International Conference Centre in Harare on Monday.

The award recognises top-performing executives in state enterprises who demonstrate strong leadership and results-driven management aligned with national development goals.

This is the third consecutive time that Mhiko has received the recognition, highlighting his continued leadership at ARDA, the state-owned agricultural development agency tasked with spearheading large-scale farming and rural development initiatives.

Mhiko has also received continental recognition for his contribution to agriculture. In 2024, he won the Africa Food Prize during the Africa Food Systems Forum held in Kigali, Rwanda.

At the time, Emmerson Mnangagwa congratulated Mhiko, saying the award reflected efforts to strengthen food security and agricultural systems across Africa.

Mhiko received a US$100,000 prize as part of the award in recognition of his work promoting irrigation-led agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems in Zimbabwe.

With more than 15 years of experience in agriculture across 10 African countries, Mhiko has been credited with spearheading reforms and innovation within ARDA.

Under his leadership, the authority has expanded programmes aimed at boosting national food production while strengthening Zimbabwe’s strategic grain reserves.

ARDA is also working to revive more than 460 irrigation schemes nationwide through partnerships involving the government and private sector players.

The authority is additionally rolling out about 35,000 village business units — including school and youth business units — under the V30 Accelerator Model, an initiative designed to stimulate rural industrialisation and agricultural productivity.

Mhiko has previously been recognised for corporate leadership after being named CEO of the Year at the CEO Africa Roundtable awards in 2023.

During the same period, ARDA was also recognised as the best-performing parastatal at both the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair and the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show.