Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
INFORMATION and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been viewed as advancements tools that could grow all sectors of the economy, including mining and farming.
In an interview, Zimbabwe Youth Council head of business development, data and research services, Mr Sungano Chisina said Zimbabwe like the rest of the world should capitalise on ICTs for the mining and farming sectors.
“As the world over is capitalising on technological advancements, Zimbabwe cannot be spared and is moving towards technological advancements in all sectors of the economy so as to meet the evolving world standards.
Agriculture and mining in Zimbabwe are the major pillars of the economy and to date have proven to be fast growing, hence utilising ICTs for these sectors is important,” said Mr Chisina.
He said Zimbabwe was still below average in terms of technological advancement and automation though the rate at which it was copying up was very high through support from other countries such as China.
Mr Chisina said so far, the agriculture sector has proven to be the leading sector in technological advancement through different farm mechanisation programmes.
“As evidenced by the mobile penetration, establishment of a stand alone ministry of ICTs as well as the computerisation programme, technology has gained momentum in recent years as we have witnessed major developments in informational and communications technology which might have a transformational impact on the struggling economy. So far the agriculture sector has proven to be the leading sector in technological advancement,” he said.
Mr Chisina also noted that agriculture and mining have been flagged in the National Development Strategy 1 as pillars for recovery from Covid-19 pandemic through localised production, value addition and beneficiation.
He added: “In terms of automation, digitisation and electrification of these sectors (agriculture and mining), a lot still needs to be done from the curriculum itself up to a stage where our graduates are able to innovate and be creative to come up with localised solutions.”
Moreover, he highlighted that the Zimbabwean mining industry has been in the bottom quartile of global cost competitiveness due to low capitalisation since it is a capital-intensive sector.
He said there was a need to adopt systems that will allow an increase in profitability, reduction in costs, control of operations, optimise and enhance effective processing strategies.
“The Zimbabwe mining industry intends to reach a $13 billion industry by 2030, then we have some digital harnessing to do because an increase in productivity is certainly what we need,” said Mr Chisina.
He further stated that agricultural mechanisation has emerged as a top priority by the Government and through public and private partnerships; those in agriculture including women and youths were benefiting a lot.
Mr Chisina said generally the nation has been lagging behind in terms of agriculture and mining technological advancements but efforts were being made so as so assist farmers and miners to fully engage in a more technologically advanced economic environment.
According to various studies in the fields of farming and mining ICTs have a positive impact on creating synergy, flexibility, inclusion, foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic activity, including further development of content and services in a variety of languages and formats that are accessible to all people.
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