Zimbabwe gets US$2m

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made in Harare yesterday.
He said the money would be released under the India — Africa Forum agreement signed in Addis Ababa in 2011.
“We have opened lines of credit worth US$5,2 billion to Africa and extended a further US$20 million as grant in aid support to Africa again.
“India will be establishing 80 technical institutions in Africa under the Pan-African level, regional and bilateral levels besides imparting capacity building skills through specialised training to African specialists,” he said.
Mr Tripathi said another delegation would soon visit Zimbabwe to establishing a Rural Technology Park.
The value of the project will only be known after the visit.
Minister Made expressed his gratitude to India for its support at a time when illegal sanctions were causing suffering on the people.
He said it was important for Zimbabwe to adopt the food testing technology as many farmers were now focusing on value addition.
He added, “The food has to be tested for various elements, metals and even chemicals before it is sold either to local or the export markets.
“The laboratories will be very important to the agriculture industry since it produces both livestock and crop products that are later processed into food,” he said.
Minister Made said this would also enable local scientists to learn from their Indian counterparts and gain experience in the safe handling of food, either processed or raw.
He said India had already appointed International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics as an agency to implement the programme.
“The team that is coming after this group will be involved in the development of agriculture institutions such as Domboshava Training Centre, the Institute of Agricultural Engineering and the Hendersen Research Station that are tasked to assist in promoting production in the rural areas,” he said.
These latest developments, said Minister Made, came in the wake of Vice President Joice Mujuru’s visit to India during which she met different businesspeople in the its economy.
India and Zimbabwe have a long history of close and cordial relations.
Indian public sector companies such as Indian Railway Construction Company, Rail India Technical and Economic Services, Water and Power Consultancy Services and Telecommunications India Ltd were involved with maintaining and upgrading infrastructure in Zimbabwe soon after independence.