Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Herald Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa last week launched the Productivity Booster Kits programme which analysts have described as empowering and a catalyst for Zimbabwe’s continued modernisation and industrialisation across the board.
10 000 A1 farmers will benefit under the first phase of this programme and through this initiative, each farmer is set to get a US$6 000 loan for the purchase of Productivity Booster Kits which will irrigate between 1 and 3 hectares.
The Productivity Booster Kits will also be made available to smallholder tobacco farmers, in an effort to localise the procurement of farming equipment and other aspects of the tobacco value chain.
Currently, tobacco is financed mainly through foreign financiers with 95 percent of the golden leaf’s farmers under contracts and only 5 percent being self-funded.
This results in Zimbabwe only retaining about 12,5 percent of the value of its tobacco, with the remainder paying back loans and interests, thus, the availing of the Booster Kits programme to tobacco farmers.
The programme will see Government availing a US$2 billion loan facility, with five banks having committed to providing additional working capital to the initiative. To support the Booster Kit Programme, Technical Service Centres will be established in each of the country’s 10 provinces to serve A1 farmers.
The centres, which will be run and operated by banks, will provide five functional services namely Tillage services, Technical and Extension services, Irrigation and Mechanisation services, Harvest and post-harvest services and Monitoring and evaluation services.
It is envisaged that, once capacitated, A1 farmers will be producing more than 10 million tonnes of grain per annum and contributing an extra US$6,14 billion to the agricultural sector GDP with an excess of US$1,59 billion in household disposable income.
Political and economic commentator Mr Kudzai Mutisi said the Productivity Booster Kits programme was a major masterstroke in the country’s agricultural transformation as it would propel the creation of sustainable wealth.
“President Mnangagwa understands that production is what creates sustainable wealth. By providing the Productivity Booster Kits, the government has effectively empowered people in rural areas to be productive and create wealth for themselves and the nation,” he said.
Mr Mutisi said the Booster Kits programme was also in tandem with President Mnangagwa’s call for the adoption of new technologies across all sectors, agriculture included.
Rural communities, he added, would exponentially benefit from such initiatives.
“As rural production grows, opportunities for value addition will increase and that will lead to the industrialisation of rural communities. With funding and technical support, the A1 farmers can now adopt smart agriculture and agro-processing companies can now be established in these productive rural communities,” he said.
Another commentator, Mr Dereck Goto, said the Productivity Booster Kits programme was a practical demonstration of the Second Republic’s commitment to transforming agriculture from subsistence to “farming as a business”.
The initiative embodies Vision 2030 in action, ensuring that no community is left behind in Zimbabwe’s march towards sustainable development, he said.
“President Mnangagwa’s remarks capture the essence of the Second Republic’s practical commitment to transforming agriculture from subsistence into a driver of industrialisation and food security,” said Mr Goto.
“The Productivity Booster Kit Programme is not just about tools – it is about empowering farmers with modern, smart agricultural practices that will raise productivity, strengthen rural economies and anchor value addition through agro-processing,” said Mr Goto.
