Nyore Madzianike
Senior Reporter
SADC regional countries have approached Zimbabwe requesting assistance in training their agricultural extension officers, with South Africa already asking that 10 000 of its officers be trained in the country.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, Prof Obert Jiri, said the quality of Zimbabwean agricultural extension officers had attracted the attention of SADC countries and beyond.
Prof Jiri said Angola had also requested to have its officers trained in Zimbabwe.
He made the remarks during a 2027 Pre-Budget meeting with Parliament at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden, where he called for increased resource allocation to the agriculture sector.
“We also put a bit of money into operational costs and the constraints that we already have.
“A 45,8 percent reduction in goods and services will limit our field operations, our extension services and our monitoring capacity.
“Yes, you know, if we ask you now and I hear these sentiments now and then, there’s no way many can cover all work in the field.
“Even if you give them a motorbike, it needs fuel,” he said.
Prof Jiri said extension officers were often left with the task of judiciously allocating the few resources at their disposal when undertaking their duties.
He said this left them incapacitated.
“So, he has to be judicious, so somehow he will suffer and this is if we are in a rural setting. If you go to the A2 farms, maybe the small, small commercial, the distances are long,” he said.
“So, the reduction in operational costs really affects the service delivery.
“So, our extension services, which are at the envelop mapping world and in Africa, by the way, South Africa has already sent a message to say we want you to train 10 000 extension officers for us. So, they recognise the importance of our extension system.
“Another country, I think it’s Angola, they’ve also said, to say, we want you to send us to train the personnel. They recognise our training in our extension system, and they see the value. So, we have a jewel in our extension system.”
Prof Jiri recently said extension workers had been provided with tablets, internet connectivity, data, airtime and solar-powered systems, while an e-extension platform loaded onto their devices enabled them to access updated information.
He also said they had developed an e-extension system. The platform is updated regularly, enabling officers to access the latest information on any agricultural subject.
The system will also help extension workers disseminate information on Government drought mitigation measures.
Prof Jiri said agricultural information was being packaged into simplified messages to enable extension workers to communicate technical issues more effectively to farmers.
