Cutting edge facility boosts food security

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter

YESTERDAY’S commissioning of the country’s largest semen processing and cryo-preservation centre at the Matopos Research Institute in Matabeleland South province is expected to help the country preserve its genetic resources, enhance food security, and drive sustainable development in local communities.

The Semen Processing and Cryo-preservation Centre, a collaborative effort with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) project ‘Building the Climate Resilience of Vulnerable Livelihoods in Southern Zimbabwe’, is the second biggest in Southern Africa.

It was established at a cost of more than US$400 000.

Speaking during the handover and commissioning of the centre yesterday, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka said the centre marked a significant milestone in Government’s efforts to transform the agriculture sector, given growing food security challenges that were being exacerbated by climate change.

“Agriculture continues to occupy a dominant role in the recovery of our economy and has beforehand contributed up to 20 percent of the country’s GDP; 33 percent to formal employment; 65 percent of raw materials requirement to agro-industries and account for the livelihoods of 67 percent of the population which lives in rural areas as smallholder farmers.

“As such, agriculture is the most direct pathway out of poverty and a pre-condition for economic transformation in pursuit of Vision 2030. This Cryo-preservation Centre at Matopos is one of the five Innovation Platforms established under the GCF project that is co-financed by the Government of Zimbabwe. This initiative resonates with the Government’s commitment to ensuring food security, promoting sustainable agriculture and empowering our farming communities,” he said.

Dr Masuka said the centre was evidence of the Government’s continuing efforts to promote climate-smart agricultural methods, at a time when the evident signs of climate change were demanding a change in the way farmers conducted themselves.

“The commissioning of these seven processing and cryo-preservation units represents a substantial investment in our capacity to preserve genetic resources, enhance food security, and drive sustainable development for our communities. This semen processing and cryo-preservation centre is therefore evidence of our commitment to climate-smart and sustainable agricultural practices,” he said.

Dr Masuka acknowledged that in-breeding had over the years seen the sizes of cattle in the country dwindling, something that the centre hoped to combat. He said the commissioning of the seven processing and cryo-preservation units would enable farmers to easily access top-quality semen at affordable prices.

“The operationalisation of this centre is part of the Ministry’s efforts in the implementation of the Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy (AFSRTS) that seeks to increase agricultural production and productivity for national food and nutrition security, and for food sovereignty. The successful transformation of the agriculture sector requires a focus on modernisation, commercialization and use of sustainable practices to optimise the growth of the agricultural sector,” he said.

UNDP country representative Dr Ayodele Odusola said that over $400 000 had been spent on building the centre.
“The project procured state of the art Semen Processing and cryo-preservation equipment worth US$394 390 from Germany and the Netherlands to equip Matopos Innovation Platform (IP) to be able to support smallholder farmers deal with barriers of accessing climate resilient cattle breeds. An additional $40.000.00 was invested for capacity building of Innovation Platform staff on artificial insemination learning from experiences in Kenya and towards procurement of other key machinery for the supplementary strategies that the Innovation Centre is implementing.

This is a total investment of $434 390,” he said.

Dr Odusola said the centre would play a crucial role in preserving genetic diversity through cryo-preservation of semen from valuable livestock breeds, including indigenous and locally adapted breeds.

“Matopos Innovation Centre will play this significant role by utilising the equipment to implement both in-situ and ex-situ livestock breeding and breed conservation strategies through cryo-preservation of semen from valuable livestock breeds, including our indigenous and locally adapted breeds. The breeds produced are not only adaptable to climate change but also highly productive and of high market value.

“The preservation of diverse livestock genetics allows for sustainable access to high-quality semen beyond the project’s lifespan, enabling farmers to continuously restock and upgrade their herds, thereby strengthening their resilience against climate change. This partnership advances the national climate resilience building agenda where Zimbabwe, like most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, is perennially affected by climatic shocks impacting heavily on smallholder rain-fed agricultural production systems, often with severe consequences on socio-economic development,” he said.