Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare
Herald Correspondent
GOVERNMENT is moving to commercialise agricultural research and innovations to generate additional revenue for research programmes and accelerate solutions to challenges facing the farming sector.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said research must lead agricultural transformation, with Government researchers expected to work closely with universities and the private sector to develop practical solutions for the country’s needs.
“Research must lead our agriculture. So as we focus on agricultural transformation, it is research that should lead us in terms of all disciplines in agriculture,” Prof Jiri said.
“We must have responses based on what we research from our problems. So solutions for all these challenges that we have must come from research.”
Prof Jiri was speaking in Harare on Tuesday during the Department of Research, Education and Specialist Services (DRESS) Programme 2 and 3 second quarter review meeting, where officials reviewed performance and discussed strategies for modernising agricultural research.
The Government’s agricultural research system covers a broad range of disciplines, including crop production, livestock and pastures, soils, plant protection, seed services and agricultural data analysis.
Under the Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS), specialised institutions such as the Agronomy Research Institute, Cotton Research Institute, Henderson Research Institute, Matopos Research Institute, Chemistry and Soil Research Institute and Plant Protection Research Institute conduct research aimed at improving agricultural production.
Prof Jiri said research would be particularly important in responding to climate-related threats, including the anticipated El Niño.
“When you talk about climate change, it is research that must lead us in the discourse of El Niño. What do we do? When is it coming?” he said.
He said Government researchers should collaborate with universities and private companies to ensure research was not conducted in isolation from the country’s economic needs.
“We must also ensure that as we research, we do not research in a vacuum. We research in a country that requires solutions.
“Collaborative research is essential—with universities, with the private sector. It must be able to provide solutions for our private sector and also for our country,” Prof Jiri said.
Prof Jiri said more Government scientists should work with academia and industry to develop technologies and innovations that could be applied commercially.
“Going forward, we must also have our Government researchers talking to the private sector so we can have solutions that are appropriate for the private sector,” he said.
He said agricultural research must also embrace digital technologies as the sector modernises.
“In this era of digital technologies, innovations must also be premised on digital platforms to ensure that we remain relevant as research,” Prof Jiri said.
Chief Director of DRESS Dr Dumisani Kutywayo said the department was now seeking to identify innovations that could be protected and commercialised to generate revenue for research programmes.
He said the initiative was necessary as research institutions faced inadequate funding for infrastructure development, laboratory reagents and modernisation.
“We are infusing a sense of commercialisation so that we can start raising funds to improve our infrastructure, our capacity to acquire laboratory reagents, our capacity to modernise in line with our Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy, where we expect to be modernising the research,” Dr Kutywayo said.
“So there is inadequate funding, and we hope that this meeting is going to chart the way forward in terms of identifying our innovations that can be protected and commercialised to improve revenue streams into our research programme.”
Dr Kutywayo said the review meeting brought together principals from the country’s nine agricultural colleges, comprising eight physical colleges and the virtual Zimbabwe Agriculture College, as well as heads of research stations and farm managers.
“The purpose of this meeting is to review our performance for Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 as we plan for the new strategy,” he said.
The commercialisation drive is expected to strengthen the capacity of agricultural research institutions to develop technologies, protect innovations and translate research findings into practical solutions for farmers and the wider agricultural industry.
