Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
AGRICULTURE remains one of the key sectors that should contribute to the attainment of an upper middle-income economy by 2030 hence farmers should take advantage of the promising 2020-2021 cropping season, a Cabinet Minister said.
More than 1,8 million farmers have received training through the Intwasa/Pfumvudza Conservation Agriculture Programme under which they are practising climate-proofed agriculture supported by Agritex officers.
The farmers received inputs that include seed, fertilisers and chemicals and distribution of the inputs was done before the onset of the rains.
Government also provided support to cotton farmers under the Presidential Cotton Input Scheme.
In addition, the Government ring-fenced 15 million litres of fuel for farmers contracted under the National Enhanced Productivity Programme (Command Agriculture).
Addressing Provincial Affairs Ministers who are meeting in Gweru to strategise on the 2020-2021 farming season, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Dr Anxious Masuka said the Agriculture Recovery Plan was well on course.
“Agriculture remains one of the key sectors in the country’s quest to become an upper middle-income economy by 2030. Zimbabweans should therefore take advantage of a promising 2020-2021 farming season to boost production and enhance food insecurity,” said the Minister.
He challenged the Provincial Affairs Ministers to expeditiously anchor their respective Provincial Gross Domestic Product on agriculture.
Dr Masuka said there were more than 1,8 million households actively involved in different agricultural activities, a figure which he said if properly supported could see the country reclaiming its status of being the breadbasket of Southern Africa.
“We have 1,8 million rural households representing 70 percent of the population who are involved daily in agriculture.
For the attainment of Vision 2030, they therefore ought to be mainstreamed in the mainstream economy so that they too can be layers as we journey along the Vision 2030 so it is both a challenge and an obligation for us all to begin to make the systematic way forward to make sure we increase agricultural production and increase profitability on farms,” he said.
Dr Masuka said farmers should begin to take agriculture as business riding on Government’s full support of the sector through various Agriculture Recovery Plans such as the Intwasa/Pfumvudza programme.
He said provinces were given targets under the 2020-2021 farming season and should take advantage of a promising farming season to achieve set targets as the country journeys towards attaining Vision 2030.
“So, agriculture ought to be a business, a viable and entertaining one. It’s both an art and a science. For this season we have said we have to individually and collectively assure that we move into permanent food security territory and move away from the food insecurity situation we have been in the past.
If we plan together, if we own the programmes certainly the outcome will be what we desire. We might not have the power to predict the future but sufficiently planning will always give us good results,” he said.
Dr Masuka said under the Government’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) agriculture was a very critical component towards the country’s development agenda.
He said provincial ministers will be holding an interactive workshop to discuss issues where the sector can improve as the country gears for a bumper harvest.
“At the inaugural meeting of provincial ministers, we requested the Vice-President Dr Constantino Chiwenga to proffer his remarks and guidance on what structure this interface ought to take and he eloquently gave us guidance on how we should move forward for us to be food sufficient as a nation.
So, the purpose of this second meeting is to interact and see where we can improve as we journey towards Vision 2030,’” he said.
More than 1,5 million hectares have been set aside for cropping with a target of 3,6 million tonnes of maize.
Zimbabwe like the rest of Sadc countries, is forecast to receive between normal to above normal rainfall.
Online Reporter