Mickson Kajowe

Senior agricultural executive with over 15 years' progressive leadership of large-scale commercial arable farming operations across Zimbabwe, encompassing direct responsibility for more than 17,500 hectares of cereal, oilseed and seed-crop production (maize, wheat, barley, soya), pivot-irrigated cropping, high-value horticulture, and integrated dairy/beef livestock enterprises. Proven record establishing and scaling greenfield agricultural developments; pivot irrigation infrastructure, borehole and storage-dam networks, cold-chain and export horticulture facilities, from feasibility through to full commercial production. Skilled in leading multidisciplinary teams (Provincial Managers, Agronomists, Field Officers, Operators) across dispersed operations, deploying national mechanization fleets, driving precision-agriculture and telematics adoption, and delivering CAPEX/OPEX budgets and financial performance reporting to EXCO and Board level.

Strong background in GAP/GLOBALG.A.P. compliance, occupational health and safety, and regulatory standards across export-grade production. Seeking to bring this depth of arable, irrigation and large-team leadership to a General Manager / Agriculture Director role directing large-scale cereal and fodder-crop operations in Algeria.

Senior Operations & Technical Manager - AFC Leasing Company (AFC Holdings Group) - Harare, Zimbabwe

(2025-02)

• Directed large-scale mechanized arable operations across 17,500 ha (7,500 ha tobacco targeting 2,800–3,200 kg/ha; 10,000 ha diversified cereals and oilseeds including maize target 8–10 t/ha, wheat target 6–8 t/ha, and soya target 2.8–3 t/ha), coordinating mechanization, logistics and grower finance access.
• Led and grew a multidisciplinary team of Provincial Managers, Field Officers, Agronomists and Operators across 22 cluster centres, strengthening operational discipline, field oversight and infrastructure security.
• Planned and deployed a national mechanization fleet of 600 tractors, 60 harvesters, 4 haulage trucks and supporting implements, improving tillage turnaround times by 30% and lifting overall production efficiency.
• Developed CAPEX and OPEX budgets aligned with departmental cash flow, improving financial control and supporting board-level investment decisions.
• Introduced real-time dashboard reporting for crop performance, asset utilization and loan repayment tracking, sharpening decision-making and recovery discipline.
• Maintained strong compliance and repayment performance through close coordination with farmers, agronomists, finance teams and regulators, reporting to the Managing Director for EXCO and Board.

Head of Operations – Agriculture Programmes - Cassava Technologies (Econet Group) - Harare, Zimbabwe

(2018-06 - 2025-01)

• Established and scaled pivot-irrigated commercial cereal cropping programmes across multiple provinces: maize (15000 ha, benchmark 9–11 t/ha), wheat (8000 ha, benchmark 7–8.5 t/ha), barley (5000 ha, benchmark 6.5–7.5 t/ha) and potatoes (1000 ha, benchmark 35–45 t/ha) in Mazowe, Chegutu and Middle Sabi.
• Led the greenfield establishment of a 10-ha commercial blueberry project (targeting 20–25 t/ha at maturity) from concept to production, including land clearing, precision tillage, drip/fertigation infrastructure, storage dams, borehole drilling and cold-chain facilities.
• Delivered a 25-ha garden pea and 50-ha Mange Tout/Sugar Snap pea export horticulture partnership with Takura Capital, meeting premium European export quality and compliance standards.
• Achieved and maintained GLOBALG.A.P. certification and export/sustainability permits across all production hubs, safeguarding high-margin international market access.
• Managed farmer partnerships, joint ventures and off-take contracts to consistently meet productivity, quality and commercial viability targets, leading internal and external teams on land development, irrigation infrastructure and water storage.
• Delivered daily, weekly, monthly and annual operational and financial performance reports to executive leadership, driving strategic growth decisions.

Operations & Export Manager – Agriculture & Agribusiness - Sinapis Agribusiness - Gweru, Zimbabwe

(2009-01 - 2018-04)

• Managed 1,000+ hectares of commercial cereal and oilseed row-crop rotation (maize 9–10 t/ha, winter wheat 6.5–7.5 t/ha, soya beans 3.2–3.8 t/ha) from land preparation through harvest, consistently meeting yield and cost-per-tonne targets.
• Directed integrated livestock operations comprising a 25-head milking dairy herd (target 22–25 L/cow/day) and a 3,000-head commercial beef herd (target 1.2 kg daily live-weight gain), overseeing breeding, animal health/nutrition and market delivery — including forage and feed-crop planning to support herd nutrition.
• Supervised a workforce of 550 employees, managing labour welfare, occupational safety and infrastructure maintenance across all operational units.
• Drove mechanization upgrades and irrigation infrastructure development to maximize water-use efficiency and operational reliability.
• Secured GLOBALG.A.P. certification and sanitary/phytosanitary compliance for local and export markets, and owned full P&L budgeting, working-capital and cash-flow planning with reporting to executive management.

Field Assistant Manager – Seed Production - Seed Co Zimbabwe

(2003-04 - 2008-11)

• Managed specialized hybrid seed production across 3 farms (1,800 ha total), providing full agronomic oversight for seed maize, seed wheat, seed barley, seed beans and seed soya.
• Conducted rigorous field inspections, isolation-distance checks, detasseling management and rogueing to ensure genetic purity and germination rates exceeding 98%.
• Executed field trials, variety demonstrations and farmer field days to accelerate adoption of high-yielding cultivars, and facilitated annual production budgets and planning across the three farms.

Bachelor of Substantive Laws - Law - University of Zimbabwe (2025)

BSc Agriculture (Honours) - Agriculture - Bindura University of Science Education (2021)

Diploma in Education - Agriculture - University of Zimbabwe (2016)

Diploma in Business Economics & Commerce - Business Economics & Commerce - College of Professional Management (2005)

Certificate in Commercial Farming - Commercial Farming - Kushinga Phikelela Agricultural College (2004)