Incentives for investing in agric

Chipo Chaumba

THE Ministry of Finance and Economic Development says it will provide fiscal incentives to investors who participate in key and strategic areas of the agricultural sector.

As such, the incentives will be accessed by investors involved in production of cash crops, strategic crops, farm mechanisation, horticulture, upgrading of agricultural equipment, livestock and agro-processing, irrigation as well as contract farming.

Treasury said that this was in recognition that the agriculture sector was the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy with over 32,2 million hectares of potential arable land.

The agricultural sector contributes about 11 percent to annual gross domestic product and supplies 60 percent of the raw materials required by the industrial sector.

In a Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) progress report, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said investors in specified areas will get incentives.

The incentives for investing in the identified crops and value chains include value added tax exemptions, full income tax deduction on expenditure incurred on fencing, clearing and stumping lands and works for the prevention of soil erosion.

Incentives may also be given for investment in boreholes, wells, aerial and geophysical surveys through removal of tax when importing equipment such as tractors and irrigation facilities.

Further, incentives may be given through deferred tax and full income tax on all agricultural services like farm inputs such as animal feed, animal remedy, fertiliser, plants, pesticides and equipment or machinery.