‘Farmers should partner with Govt,SAZ’

The European Union has called on local horticulture farmers to partner with Government and key agencies such as Standards Association of Zimbabwe to fully benefit from preferential access to the $170 billion horticulture market. Zimbabwe has since ratified the interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Eastern and Southern African states, giving the country unlimited opportunities to export its products to countries in the bloc duty free and quota free, meaning the country can export as much as it can, provided it meets the EU quality standards.

Addressing horticulture and trade experts at a National Horticulture Conference recently, a representative of the
EU delegation to Zimbabwe, Ana-Maria Pena Segura said players in the industry had to take an active role regarding creation of policies that affect their business.
“You need to partner with Government and work as one entity. You need to also engage Government regarding the policies that they are putting in place because sometimes these policies can damage the industry,” she said.

She added that policies directed at the success of various industries will increase revenue collection by Government and ultimately improve economic conditions.
“There are many issues we can discuss together and they are for the benefit of all because Government will benefit from better revenues if the companies in the country are more profitable,” she said.

According to Pena Segura creating lines of communication with bodies responsible for certifying consignments will be a beneficial move for those in this industry.
“It is also very important to partner with those institutions such as Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) because they have the inspectors who are inspecting the consignments to the European Union,” she said.

At its peak, the horticultural sector was the second largest foreign currency earner, in the country, after tobacco contributing an average 4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.
The Horticultural Promotion Council Taskforce Strategy Paper for the period 2014-2024 states that the country is targeting 100 000 tonnes of exports per annum through increased production, access to finance, development of quality standards and a conducive regulatory environment. – BH24