Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Bhebhe, Senior Business Reporter
THERE is an urgent need to fully mechanise the agriculture sector to reduce production costs amid indications that about 11 000 tractors are available against a requirement of 40 000, Land, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary, Dr John Bhasera, has said.
On Wednesday, Cabinet heard that 52 tractors had been delivered under the Belarus Farm Mechanisation Facility and two mobile grain dryers have been operationalised.
In the same vein, a total of 62 boreholes had been drilled for irrigation under the WASH Co-ordination and Water Resources Management programme.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the recently held International Business Conference alongside the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), Dr Bhasera said several programmes to build mechanisation efficiencies and increase competitiveness are being adopted to upscale productivity levels.
However, on tractor availability, he said concerted efforts need to be in place to acquire more tractors.
“We know that the smartest intervention to reduce the cost of production is to increase productivity levels and that is true mechanisation,” he said.
“We have serious gaps in terms of agriculture mechanisation and our requirements for tractors, we are looking at about 35 000 to 40 000 but currently, we have about 11 000.
“We need to put in concerted efforts and resources so that we mechanize the space,” Dr Bhasera said.
The thrust of modernising the country’s pivotal agriculture sector and enhancing production and productivity is in line with the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy, which seeks to achieve an US$8,2 billion agriculture economy by 2025, a policy that also anchors Vision 2030 to become an upper-middle-income economy.
Under the Second Republic, mechanisation and irrigation programmes include the John Deere facility and the Belarus irrigation facility and these are all based on cost recovery.
The John Deere Mechanisation facility, which is aimed at achieving the Agricultural Recovery Plan, is meant to ensure Zimbabwe achieves self-sufficiency in the production of cereals.
The facility included tractors, combine harvesters, planters, disc harrows, boom sprayers and trailers, among other implements. — @nqobilebhebhe
Online Reporter