The ManicaPost
Ray Bande and Tendai Gukutikwa
MANICALAND is on track to contribute to the US$13.75 billion agricultural economy through the rigorous implementation of smart agriculture initiatives.
This target will be achieved through production growth in dairy, crop production, animal husbandry, agroforestry, apiculture and aquaculture, among other things.
This comes after the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, under President Mnangagwa’s instruction, revised the 2025 agricultural economy target to US$13.75 billion.
Last year, the country achieved a US$8.1 billion agricultural economy, a target that was initially set for 2025.
This was achieved through climate smart agricultural initiatives such as Pfumvudza/Intwasa, among many others.
Climate smart agriculture refers to an integrated and concerted approach to sustainably manage landscapes, cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries in efforts to address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.
Speaking during the Pfumvudza/Intwasa inputs distribution launch for Manicaland Province held at Roman Catholic priest, Father Stanislaus Chetse’s homestead in Makoni District last week, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr John Basera said Government had to revise its targets after achieving the 2025 production target.
Dr Basera said Manicaland is expected to contribute significantly to the attainment of the US$13.75 billion agricultural economy given its impressive perfomance in the sector.
“Government is forging ahead in enhancing productivity in the agricultural sector and it is against this background that all programmes, including the Pfumvudza/Intwasa Inputs Scheme, will be accelerated.
“Three million farmers across the country are set to benefit from this initiative, with 400 000 of those coming from Manicaland. This programme is part of a broader Government initiative to enhance productivity. As a Ministry, we are excited about the increased productivity across all agricultural sub-sectors, including livestock production.
“This is in line with the mandate given to us by President Mnangagwa with regards to achieving Vision 2030 as well as the need to maintain food security.
“The country has enough grain to feed its citizens and that should always be the case, with or without normal rainfall. We are in this Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme as part of our response to the devastating effects of climate change.
“You might have seen how climate change has affected farming operations as we now witness mid-season dry spells. Therefore, initiatives such as Pfumvudza/Intwasa come in handy in mitigation and adaptation to effects of climate change,” said Dr Basera.
Addressing dairy farmers and other stakeholders at the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers Ninth Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Nyanga on Wednesday, Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza said Manicaland currently produces about 17.5 million litres of the country’s annual output of 91 million litres of milk, which translates to 16 percent of the national output.
“The dairy models in the province demonstrate evidence that if appropriate support is rendered, dairy farmers can produce the anticipated high volumes of raw milk required to cover the gap between national demand and the current supply,” said Minister Mugadza.
Minister Masuka
He said dairy production in the province is contributing to the attainment of Vision 2030 as it is aligned with the National Development Strategy (NDS1).
“Government is implementing the devolution agenda which has seen Manicaland leveraging on its various economic opportunities to contribute towards national development.
“The major economic activities in Manicaland are agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing. In line with NDS1, these sectors are key to us attaining Vision 2030.
“For this reason, Government has been very keen on the dairy sector and has thus continued to allocate resources and other forms of support to the sector.
“In 2021, President Mnangagwa launched the Presidential Silage Inputs Scheme in Rusitu Valley so that small-scale dairy farmers can graduate into medium and large-scale dairy farmers,” he said.
Minister Mugadza said the province boasts of medium and large-scale commercial farmers around Mutare, Makoni and in Chipinge, with most of them being anong the best in the country.
He said Manicaland will continue to increase milk volumes as Government continues to capacitate dairy farmers, thereby helping in upscaling their production.
“Small-scale dairy farmer collection centres in Manicaland include Mayfield and Rusitu United in Chipinge, which produce well over 30 000 litres per month.
“They supply Dairibord. The province also has Tsonzo, Sangano, Honde Valley and Cynara milk collection points which are closer to Mutare and they keep increasing and beating their production targets every month,” said Minister Mugadza.
He said during the 2023-24 agricultural season, more than 2 000 small-holder dairy farmers will be supported to produce silage and pasture under the Presidential Silage Inputs Scheme, adding that farmers from Manicaland will not be left out.
He went on to thank President Mnangagwa for helping grow the agricultural sector so that it restores its bread basket of Africa status,” said the minister.
