PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s open for business mantra is on course, with government partnering the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for the establishment of the Zimbabwe Agro-tourism Showroom at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.
The Zimbabwe food security transformation agenda received a major boost this Sunday when the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on the side-lines of the just ended FAO Agriculture Ministerial Conference.
Under the MOU, Zimbabwe has been allocated a dedicated space to set an agro-based tourism showroom at the FAO headquarters.
This follows engagements between President Mnangagwa and the FAO Directorate on the need to market Zimbabwe’s agriculture products to the global village.
“In 2024 President Mnangagwa was here in Rome and he requested Director General Mr Qu Dongyu that Zimbabwe be given a room to exhibit its agricultural products, and this agreement that we have just signed showed that the President’s wish has come to fruition to promote his vision of an upper middle class society by 2030 through up-scaling the rural smallholder to access resources to achieve sustainable food security- this can only happen with such linkages with FAO in place. The room will be commissioned in mid-October once everything has been put in place,” he said.
FAO Deputy Director General, Mr Maurizio Martina said the allocation of a dedicated space to Zimbabwe in Rome will provide a crucial link to international agriculture stakeholders, including investors and players in the market.
“This agreement to open a dedicated space for Zimbabwe is welcome in view of FAO celebrating its 80 anniversary, this kind of arrangement is super important link Zim and FAO and the world at large,” he noted.
Another key takeaway was the commitment made by FAO to prioritise more resources to support Zimbabwe smallholder rural farmers and Africa at large, which is poised to be the global food security hub.
