Chronicle Editor
Sikhulekelani Moyo
ESIGODINI Agricultural College’s first class of students trained under the Agricultural Education for Development 5.0 curriculum introduced in 2021, graduated yesterday.
The new curriculum responds to the needs of the economy and provides learners with skills, knowledge, and competencies crucial for the labour market, personal development and active citizenship. It focuses on training, business advisory, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The curriculum was jointly spearheaded by the European Union-funded 40 million Euro project, Zimbabwe Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Services (ZAKIS) led by the Community Technology Development Organisation (CTDO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
Addressing the students and guests at the College’s 26th graduation ceremony, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka said Zimbabwe undertook a transformative land reform programme more than 23 years ago. This ushered in 23 000 A2 and 360 000 A1 farmers, with over 90 percent of these farm beneficiaries being non-agriculturalists.
Minister Masuka who was represented by his Deputy, Cde Davis Marapira, said the Agricultural Training Institutions ought to be the foundation upon which these various farm beneficiaries will get the much-needed skills for this “newly found” occupation.
“Vision 2030 of an empowered and prosperous upper middle-income society, eloquently enunciated by the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, requires a new education paradigm as agriculture is at the core of rural development and rural transformation to power the improvement of livelihoods.
“I am delighted that, in line with the Agricultural Education for Development 5.0 curriculum, our agricultural colleges have been transformed to move away from the old system of producing ‘trainers and extensionists’ to produce graduates perfectly suited for this new need, focusing on the production of farmer-centric and business-oriented advisory service graduates. For a new land reform dispensation, steeped in the college’s display of unique entrepreneurial excellence, radiating into the surrounding communities and acting as epicentres of agricultural transformation,” said Dr Masuka.
Minister Masuka emphasised Government’s commitment to food security under the National Development Strategy 1.
He noted that agriculture’s success is crucial for achieving Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030. To support this goal, agricultural training institutions must align their programmes with the Government’s priorities.
“This is because agricultural development will cause rural industrialisation and rural industrialisation will spur rural development,” said Minister Masuka.
He said Government was alive to the fact that rural development will accelerate and facilitate the attainment of Vision 2030.
Minister Masuka said there are various agricultural interventions for the upliftment of rural livelihoods in order to attain Vision 2030 that have been packaged under the collective “Rural Development 8.0”.
Rural Development 8.0 comprises a series of outcome and impact-based Presidential Schemes such as the Presidential Climate-Proofed Input Scheme, the Presidential Cotton Scheme, the Presidential Blitz Tick Grease Scheme and the Presidential Rural Development Programme.
There is also the Presidential Community Fisheries Scheme, the Presidential Poultry Scheme, the Presidential Goat Scheme and the Vision 2030 Accelerator Model.
“These outcome-based interventions directly impact the attainment of Vision 2030 as causes, co-factors, accelerators and multipliers,” he said.
The graduation and prize-giving ceremony, which was running under the theme “Food Security Everywhere, Every Day,” saw 68 men and 58 women graduating.
In his address, Esigodini Agricultural College Principal Mr Farai Gomo said the pass rate this year was 100 percent compared to 97 percent recorded last year. He said the college recognises that entrepreneurship is critical to the future of agriculture.
“With the support of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust (ZADT), 25 students have initiated agricultural projects ranging from piggery, aquaculture, mushroom production, poultry production and horticulture. The total loans that have been disbursed amounted to US$11 712. These projects, which are at 50 percent of development, have been made possible through loans provided by ZADT, and we are excited to see the impact they will have on the students’ future and the broader agricultural sector,” said Mr Gomo.
Students who did well received different prizes from sponsors who were mainly in the agriculture sector. The prizes ranged from small farm equipment like hoes and rakes, seeds from different seed companies, goats, cows, wheelbarrows, water tanks, water pumps and cash.
In her welcoming remarks, Matabeleland South Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Dr Evelyn Ndlovu, applauded the Government initiatives in supporting different provinces. She said the establishment of Village Business Units (VBU) will foster sustainable economic development in the provinces.
The Government plans to set up 10 000 VBUs by the end of the year to uplift the lives of communities, particularly in rural areas. Each VBU comprises one solar-powered borehole, two 10 000-litre storage tanks, one horticulture garden with drip irrigation and two fish ponds.
Mandla Sibindi, who received a heifer as a prize, said: “I have been given the seed for livestock farming and my wish is to join the college’s sponsors when other students graduate in few years to come.”
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