THE positive developments taking place across several sectors of the economy under the Second Republic dominated day four of this year’s Zimbabwe Agricultural Show.
The Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere toured various stands, in particular media stables exhibiting at the show, imploring the media to play their part in disseminating the positive developments taking place across the country.
Dr Muswere reflected on the theme of this year’s show: ‘Building Bridges Connecting Agriculture, Industry, and the Community’.
“The exhibition part is the last mile in terms of the tertiary industry, where domestic and international market exhibitions take place. The primary industry in terms of agriculture is the actual production, the planting, which is also related to several policy interventions that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has managed to achieve. The agricultural sector has moved from less than US$3 billion in terms of the entirety of the sector pre-new dispensation to more than US$12 billion in terms of the size of the agricultural sector. This is mainly because of the achievements and interventions that have been put in place by President Mnangagwa.
Dr Muswere also singled out various infrastructural developments taking place, which include dam construction and the transformation of the agricultural sector.
“Of great importance is to highlight that the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme has registered millions in terms of the success of A1 farmers and the communal farmers across the country in different regions. But also, the revision in terms of the regions that had been done last time in the 1960s. The revision which was done in the new dispensation, included the agroecological tailoring, the re-planning in terms of the regions and at the same time, the use of satellite technology and information communication technology as a technology intervention to measure in terms of accuracy, in terms of the inputs that have been utilised in a particular world.”
Long queues characterised entry gates at the Zimbabwe Agriculture Show as more people flocked to attend the annual event.
Inside the gates, there were various exhibitions, including those in the agro-value chain, technology, innovations in the agricultural sector and the rural electrification programme.
“We are showcasing technologies such as drone technology, which can transform our agricultural sector. We have the rural industrialisation drive, therefore we are also showcasing different irrigation technologies to the village business units so that we can have self-food sufficiency at household level,” Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri said.
“We have our modern smart silos that were launched by the President, and we are explaining to the public about this modern infrastructure. It is an ongoing project. Apart from that, we are explaining about the processes in our grain intake,” Grain Marketing Board Spokesperson, Mr Nixon Kanyemba
“We are showcasing grid electricity, bio gas and solar energy. Our rural electrification programme has seen the electrification of 11 000 schools, clinics and households countrywide. We are escalating the programme. We have also come up with what we call institutional programmes,” REA Spokesperson, Johanes Nyamayedenga noted.
Small to medium enterprises are also proving their worth in the national economic development trajectory.
“SMEs are an integral part of the economy, which is why you see us here with all this machinery to showcase our products,” SMEs for ED Chairperson, Mr Lloyd Bahera said.
The Zimbabwe Agricultural Show which ends on Saturday, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa set to officially open the showcase this Friday.
