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Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Rporter
THE Government’s readiness to fund agriculture under the recently launched National Development Strategy 1 coupled with farmers’ determination to succeed, are indeed the critical factors that can influence the vision and strategic direction for the attainment of an $8,2 billion agriculture sector.
The availability of resources and commitment of farmers can guarantee achievement and help the country to move with its work uninterrupted towards achieving its Vision 2030 goal of a middle income economy.
Recently, President Mnangagwa hosted farmers from all provinces at State House during the Zimlife merit awards where they were rewarded for their sweat and toil.
The awards, in many ways sought to inspire and encourage them to do more to develop the country’s agricultural sector. The event was organised by Zimlife Agricultural Merit Awards in partnership with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement.
It was a rare and uncharacteristic occasion where farmers traded their worksuits and gumboots, with elegant executive suits.
It’s something that the award winning farmers never dreamt of.
President Mnangagwa and Vice Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi were at the occasion where they all took turns to hand over awards to the farmers that had excelled in different categories.
Their presence gave meaning to Government’s thrust to grow the economy through agriculture — a critical pillar for economic recovery. Various individuals and firms were honoured for their contribution in the agriculture sector.
In an interview, Zimbabwe Agriculture Merit Award founder, Mr Israel Kembo who organised the awards said he felt humbled by the Presidium for acceding to their request to preside over the event.
“I have never dreamt of such an event where farmers would leave their fields, some of them in the dusty remote areas where they spent most of their time in overalls, worksuits toiling to till the land to come here elegantly dressed to interface with the Head of State and Government at State House as what happened that day,” said Mr Kembo.
“Naturally, I am indebted to the President and his two Vice Presidents who stood with us and were with us during the occasion. The President is a man of his words, a listening President with passion for farming.”
The Zimbabwe Castor Industry Association was part of stakeholders who made the occasion a huge success.
Its secretary-general, Mr Innocent Usai said they were into processing castor beans and their members hoped to enhance their export competitiveness.
“We also wish to see a statutory instrument being put in place to protect the industry whose potential is so vast. There is a need to protect the industry from opportunistic entrepreneurs who might kill the budding industry as has been the case in other sectors. Government must ensure a regulatory authority with standing rules that have national interest at heart,” said Mr Usai.
He said the castor bean plant also carried a high propensity to absorb carbon.
“With the world battling to curb ozone depletion, castor bean can be used to reduce carbon emissions. This could earn the country millions of dollars in carbon credits if it were to be taken up on a grand scale like in other castor growing countries,” Mr Usai said.
“Engine oils, brake fluids, jet fuels, paints, pharmaceuticals, beauty products, fertilisers to mention a few are some of the products of castor bean plants. If full support is rendered, the sector has a big potential to create jobs and create other income opportunities for other various manufacturing sectors hinged upon it.”
Stakeholders noted that it was possible to achieve the US$8,2 billion agriculture sector given the support the Government is providing through a free Presidential input scheme.
The Presidential cotton input scheme has since raked US$190 million in foreign exchange since its inception, created two million jobs and saw more than 400 000 households benefiting.
President Mnangagwa extended the scheme in 2019 after its initial three years to allow farmers to recover from viability challenges that had plagued the industry in successive years.
Cottco managing director, Mr Pious Manamike said farmers were now back on their feet following Government intervention with free Presidential input scheme targeting rural marginalised communal farmers. Mr Manamike said after consultations, Cottco will reserve a quota for war veterans to participate in the cotton business.
“Rural councils and rural business centres that had gone bankrupt in Chiredzi, Checheche, Masvingo, Muzarabani, Rushinga, Zvipani and Nyamaropa are back on their feet contributing to the economic development of Zimbabwe including the whole cotton ecosystem. Since the inception of this programme the country has earned US$190 million,” said Mr Manamike.
Seed Co managing director Dr Edworks Mhandu said Zimbabwean seed was sought after in Africa owing to its quality.
“We are getting requests to export our seed as far afield as Nigeria. This year a good amount of our wheat is going to be planted in Nigeria and you hear people, saying we are not the bread basket.
“We are exporting seed to many African countries that include Tanzania, Malawi in very large quantities. We also ensure that we achieve distribution on time, we are ensuring that the seed is there in its volume as required by farmers also meeting the quality,” he said.
Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Vangelis Haritatos said the agriculture sector played an integral role in the country’s economy given that it constitutes about 15 percent of Gross Domestic Product, accounts for 40 percent of exports, 60 percent of the country’s raw materials, 70 percent of formal employment.
“Developing agriculture remains Zimbabwe’s most direct route to reduce hunger and malnutrition. It is therefore clear that agriculture remains the prime mover for attaining President Mnangagwa vision to make Zimbabwe an Upper Middle income economy,” he said.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union executive director, Mr Paul Zakaria implored the Government to intervene on high input prices that he said was unjustified.
He also called on the Government to disburse inputs on time to increase farm productivity.
With continued support from the Government through various programmes, there will be nothing to stop the country from attaining Vision 2030.
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