Vusumuzi Dube
Zimbabwe on Wednesday received a fertiliser consignment of 3 860 metric tonnes of ammonium nitrate and 1 940 metric tonnes of compound D from Japan worth US$4.7million.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister, Vangelis Haritatos, said in an acceptance speech at the hand-over of the fertiliser, that it will benefit up to 100 000 small scale farmers across the country.
“As we move forward, let us continue working together to empower farmers, promote resilience, and ensure that we can meet the food demands of our growing populations. Together, we can create lasting change and a shared future of prosperity.
As the agriculture sector looks to bounce back in the upcoming 2024/25 agricultural season, the fertilizer donation of 3 860 metric tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate top dressing and 1 941 metric tonnes of Compound D will go a long way in supporting the government’s presidential input support programme (pfumvudza/ intwasa) which is supporting 3.5 million farmers in Zimbabwe of which 500 000 of these are in peri-urban settlements,” he said.
“Agriculture remains one of the key sectors in the quest to achieve Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 as prescribed by His Excellency President E. D. Mnangagwa, to transform the country into an upper middle-class economy. The overall objective for the agriculture sector is to create a self-sufficient, food surplus economy which will see Zimbabwe re-emerge as the “Bread Basket” of Southern Africa, if not the bread- basket of the world.”
Haritatos said the donation showed the strong relations between Zimbabwe and Japan, and their commitment to sustainable agricultural development and food security in Zimbabwe. He said the support of Japan resonates with Zimbabwe’s broader efforts to enhance agricultural productivity, promote self-sufficiency, and ensure that communities can sustain themselves and flourish, whilst uplifting the livelihoods of each and every Zimbabwean.
“Such partnerships and cooperation fosters innovation and knowledge sharing, paving the way for improved livelihoods for our rural population, the improved supply of agro-based inputs into our industrial and services sectors, improved export performance for our agriculture value chains,” said Haritatos.
He said the country this year experienced an El-nino induced drought, the worst in 43 years, which led to a decline in food production by 77 percent.
In responding to drought, Haritatos said the government had championed winter wheat farming on a bigger scale, and was expecting a harvest of around 600 000 metric tonnes, enough for domestic consumption.
“To address the impacts of the El-Nino, Government has adopted a wheat-based food security thrust which is underpinned by the country’s comparative advantage to produce wheat over maize in winter. For the current season, Government had set a target of 120 000 Ha under wheat production, this target was surpassed as a total of 121 345 Ha is under irrigation,” he said.
“This will contribute to the targeted production of 600 000 mt of wheat, which will go a long (way) in replenishing our Strategic Grain Reserve and also augment supply for social welfare grain distribution to vulnerable households.
The focus now is on good agronomic practices that will ensure a good quality wheat crop.
My ministry will continue assisting farmers with technical expertise through our ARDAS team and other stakeholders to ensure that no one and no place is left behind.”
New Ziana
Online Reporter