Zim targets to be agro-industry powerhouse

ZIMBABWE is earmarked to become one of the region’s agro-industrial value-addition hubs based on its geography and increased output in the agriculture sector, a cabinet minister said.

This comes as the Government has opened the doors for its people to establish value addition industries to process agricultural products and derive maximum benefits from exports of processed goods.

Delivering a lecture on climate-smart agriculture to members of the defence forces at the Zimbabwe National Defence University, Minister of Lands, Agriculture,

Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka said Zimbabwe is now food self-sufficient following climate-smart agriculture interventions that were implemented by the Second Republic.

He said there is a need to continue increasing production and productivity to create a value chain that will ensure the country will not export raw materials.

“In the tobacco sector, 99 percent of our tobacco is exported semi-processed. We want 30 percent of that value in the next four years. Similarly, when we do maize production, we want to be able to move to the next stage of production of mealie meal.

“When doing sunflower and soybeans we need to go to the next step which is to see cooking oil and feed and this is the agro-industrialisation. That is what we are looking at so we are saying it is agriculture-led transformation that will lead us towards Vision 2030,” he said.

Dr Masuka indicated that climate-smart interventions are vital for improving agriculture yields.

“We climate-proof agriculture at two levels that is at household and national levels. We do this through sustainable intensive agriculture called Pfumvudza/ Intwasa so that households are food secure to sustain themselves,” he said. ◆ Full story on www.herald.co.zw