For years, drought and poor harvests defined life for many families in Zaka District.
Today, a crop once regarded as a simple staple is helping households build homes, educate children and create new sources of income.
In Ward 3, Chimedza, Ndanga, Wakurawarebwa Tsitsidzashe is among the farmers at the centre of that transformation.
"The proceeds have enabled my family to build a modern home, install solar power, drill a borehole and support my children's education," said Wakurawarebwa Tsitsidzashe after harvesting 15 tonnes of sweet potatoes from her two-hectare field this season.
She said the harvest has already earned her more than US$3,000, demonstrating how sweet potato farming is becoming a dependable business rather than simply a means of feeding families.
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Her story mirrors what is happening across Zaka, where more farmers are turning to sweet potatoes as they seek crops that provide stable incomes and can withstand changing weather conditions.
The district has become Masvingo Province's leading sweet potato production hub as cultivation continues to expand. Sweet potato production has increased from 5,621 hectares to about 7,200 hectares, with around 90,000 farmers now producing the crop.
Masvingo Provincial Agriculture Director Caleb Mahoya said sweet potatoes are increasingly attracting farmers because they are a low-cost, high-return and climate-smart enterprise.
He said the expansion in production has also been supported by the distribution of about 4.24 million virus-free sweet potato vines, helping farmers improve yields and productivity.
Beyond the production figures, however, the real story is unfolding in villages across Zaka, where earnings from sweet potatoes are transforming livelihoods.
Families are building homes, drilling boreholes, installing solar systems and keeping their children in school, demonstrating the crop's growing role in improving rural incomes and resilience.
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