Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyeve in Victoria Falls
THE Government has put in place a cocktail of incentives that have resulted in the transformation of the agribusiness sector through luring investment.
This was revealed by the Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Vangelis Haritatos while addressing chief executive officers who were convened on the resort town of Victoria Falls under the CEO Africa Roundtable Annual Conference.
Speaking on boosting agribusiness – promoting the use of Agro – technologies to improve production and productivity through the agriculture value chain, the Deputy Minister highlighted some of the incentives the Government has availed to promote the sector.
“In supporting Agribusiness in the country, the Government of Zimbabwe has lined up various incentives to promote investments in agriculture and these measures include rebates of duty for the importation of high value sophisticated capital equipment and materials for use in the preparation or packaging of fresh produce for export.
“Exemption from Income Tax for the first five years of operation for the designated Special Economic Zones (SEZ); Value Added Tax (VAT) levied at 14.5 percent but farming inputs and equipment are subject to VAT at 0 percent,” he said.
The Deputy Minister further revealed that foreigners are allowed to own up to 100 percent of their investment and repatriation is allowable up to 100 percent of dividends from current year’s proceeds, among other incentives.
He said these measures have brought transformation in the agribusiness sector with various opportunities in store for both citizens and investors to take.
“This has seen a real transformation in the agricultural sector especially in the horticultural sub-sector where capital equipment like green houses, machinery, cold rooms, just to mention a few were landed in the sector.
“There is a huge gap in terms of technology in all the sub-sectors as far as boosting agriculture productivity is concerned. Zimbabwe is ideal for the production of more than 23 exportable crops and livestock commodities including maize, sorghum, and other cereals, soya bean and other oil crops, legumes, macadamia, coffee, avocados, blueberries, citrus and other key fruit trees and crops,” said Deputy Minister Haritatos.
He said there are also emerging high value exportable commodities such as blueberries, Industrial Hemp and Medicinal Cannabis. Zimbabwe is largely an exporter of primary agricultural commodities and has a great potential to increase farm incomes, grow the economy and create employment through value addition.
Bongani Ndlovu