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Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE and Rwanda have pledged to work together in seed production and extension services after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in various agricultural fields.
This came out after Rwanda’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr Olivier Kamana, paid a courtesy call on his Zimbabwean counterpart, Professor Obert Jiri, at the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement Stand at the ongoing Zimbabwe Agriculture Show (ZAS) yesterday.
The two countries last year signed an MoU for co-operation in various fields of agriculture.
“They are interested in our very advanced seed production process. They are also interested in our extension system which they applauded and said they want to replicate in Rwanda,” Prof Jiri said, adding that Zimbabwe wants to tap into Rwanda’s e-inputs distribution system.
“We are implementing their e-input distribution. They are much more advanced in their digital systems. We are going to have a further discussion as a ministry so that we can learn how they have advanced their digital input distribution platform.”
Dr Kamana expressed his admiration of Zimbabwe’s seed production industry.
“The first area of collaboration is going to be in seed production. I have seen that the seed production system and related extension services are at very advanced level in Zimbabwe compared to ours.
“We will also share with our Zimbabwean counterparts the way we distribute seeds through our digitalised systems. This will be a win-win situation that is going to be beneficial for both countries,” Dr Kamana said.
He added that he was also impressed by Zimbabwe’s advances in various agricultural sector aspects.
“At this Agriculture Show, we were impressed to see that Zimbabwe has advanced in terms of agriculture mechanisation, irrigation, livestock development and many other domains, and we think that there is a lot to learn from Zimbabwe. We are going to take advantage of the MoU signed last year to start learning and to start collaboration,” Dr Kamana added.
The Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy has drastically transformed Zimbabwe’s agricultural landscape and set it on a growth trajectory.
It is against this background that the Government expects agriculture to grow to a US$13,75 billion industry by 2025.
Online Reporter