Online Reporter
Trust Freddy-Herald Correspondent
CHINESE experts who have just completed a three-year mission in Zimbabwe were awarded top State honours yesterday, as Harare and Beijing moved to consolidate a new phase of agricultural cooperation built on zero-tariff trade, climate-proof infrastructure and food security.
The 4th Chinese Senior Agricultural Expert Group received the Special Contribution Award Medal from the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development at a completion ceremony in Harare, marking the end of the technical assistance project launched in September 2023.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Anxious Masuka, in a speech read on his behalf by Chief Director, Department of Research and Specialist Services Dr Dumisani Kutywayo, said the ceremony was a celebration of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Zimbabwe and its all-weather friend, China.
“We are gathered here not merely to witness the formal conclusion of a three-year assignment, but to celebrate a monumental milestone in the enduring, time-tested bilateral relations between the Republic of Zimbabwe and our all-weather friend, the People’s Republic of China,” Dr Masuka said.
He said the group’s work gave practical meaning to the Rural Development 8.0 philosophy that agriculture must be a business everywhere, irrespective of scale.
“Today, as we honour the 4th Chinese Senior Agricultural Expert Group with our Ministry’s Special Contribution Award Medal, we are celebrating a group of professionals who did not just sit in comfortable offices, but walked deep into the mud. They lived alongside our people,” he said.
The Minister said the group’s achievements directly support the establishment of 35 000 Village Business Units (VBUs).
In Zvimba, Mashonaland West, the experts upgraded a poultry incubation centre and established Farmers’ Cooperative No. 9688.
The 45 households now produce over 2 500 chicks per month at an 85 percent hatching rate, with monthly incomes rising from US$50 to over US$400.
In Zindi Village, Shamva, Mashonaland Central, they installed a solar-powered irrigation system delivering 55 000 litres of clean water daily to more than 600 residents, tackling irrigation, soil health and mechanisation.
“I am proud to announce Zindi Village as a flagship case study for our national VBU Competition,” Dr Masuka said.
Under Agriculture Education 5.0, the group conducted 46 technical sessions and trained 2 347 officials, lecturers and technicians through nationwide tours in 2025 and 2026.
At Shamva Agricultural College, they co-constructed a 5 000-egg solar incubator with a 90 percent hatch rate, now a commercial training site.
They also rehabilitated a defunct dipping pool protecting 600 cattle and pioneered drone-based plant protection.
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhou Ding, said the honours were the highest recognition of the experts’ contribution.
“Having just viewed the retrospective video covering the expert group’s three-year assignment, we have seen first-hand their dedication, fruitful work and outstanding achievements,” Ambassador Zhou said.
He said agricultural cooperation now spans four pillars.
“First, China supports Zimbabwe’s agricultural infrastructure. We built the Valley Dam and irrigation projects and drilled 1 300 boreholes nationwide. We will upgrade nine irrigation facilities in six provinces through a Chinese Government grant.
“Second, Chinese enterprises actively invest and trade. Tian Ze Tobacco Company has operated tobacco contract-farming programmes for 20 years, exporting around US$800 million worth of tobacco to China annually. China is Zimbabwe’s largest tobacco buyer, importing half of Zimbabwe’s total tobacco output.
“Third, China brings innovative agricultural technologies. The Juncao Technology Assistance Project, rolled out across nine provinces, has helped ease local shortages of animal forage.
“Fourth, China assists Zimbabwe to safeguard food security. Over the past 20 years, China has provided 13 batches of food assistance. Most recently, we supplied 10,000 tonnes of wheat and rice to mitigate the impacts of the 2024 El Niño-driven drought,” he said.
He said the 2024 FOCAC Beijing Summit’s Partnership Action for Agriculture and Livelihoods and President Xi Jinping’s Initiative for Advancing African Agricultural Modernisation had given new momentum.
“Moving ahead, China’s zero-tariff treatment for African products will create broader market access for Zimbabwe’s agricultural goods. China will dispatch a new team of senior agricultural experts to carry out the 5th-phase technical assistance project,” Ambassador Zhou said.
Minister Masuka said Government is grateful for the Letters of Exchange formalising aid for nine irrigation schemes and for zero-tariff access that will see Zimbabwean citrus, avocados and blueberries enter the Chinese market once SPS protocols are finalised.
He said Zimbabwe’s mission is to shift from primary producer to agro-industrial hub of SADC and the AfCFTA through farm-to-fork processing, cold-chain logistics and smart climate-resilient farming.
“These medals represent the highest institutional gratitude of our Government. You came as experts, but you leave as our true Zimbabwean brothers. Long live the comprehensive strategic partnership between Zimbabwe and China,” he said.
