Zimbabwe Closing Door To Food Imports

President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, on Friday, drove to a massive wheat farm to sample grains that are just a few weeks to harvest. He was impressed by what he saw.

“Today I am delighted to see evidence of practical hard work, here at Kunatsa Estate.” The estate is harvesting 350ha of wheat and 150ha of barley grown under irrigation this winter. “Rest assured that my administration will continue to support farmers as we improve agriculture productivity towards a prosperous, diverse, sustainable and competitive agriculture sector,” he promised.

He said through dedication, hard work, and national unity, Zimbabwe would achieve food security in the next three to four years. The ambitious leader wants to revive Zimbabwe as Africa’s food basket.

The President, who dislodged late Robert Mugabe, has since set a Vision 2030 in which; agriculture, tourism, and mining are expected to contribute towards the realisation of a US$25 billion economy by 2025. He now wants every piece of agricultural land that belongs to the State to be put to use to ensure productivity. “I, therefore, challenge farmers to fully exploit the abundant land and water bodies to produce strategic agriculture products to meet our national demand and penetrate the global value chains.

“Going forward, there must be a corresponding relationship between one’s level of mechanisation and ultimate production. Those who are mechanised must produce to their level, while those with draught power and those without, must equally work hard according to their capabilities,” he said.

He noted that as a nation, Zimbabweans have come to a point where they must say bye-bye to food imports. Mnangagwa on Wednesday launched the US$8,2 billion agriculture and food systems transformation strategy which is derived from the agriculture recovery plan and the livestock growth plan, and which is expected to be key towards achieving vision 2030 to become an upper-middle economy.