Revamping agriculture: Zim govt’s focus on smallho...

Revamping agriculture: Zim govt’s focus on smallholder mechanisation

Zim Now Writer

The government is exploring several avenues to boost the agriculture sector, with smallholder mechanisation at the centre of the transformative process.

The government is using various facilities as part of efforts to increase operational efficiency and production in the agriculture value chain.

These include the Agriculture Mechanisation Development Alliance Project which involves private players and the government with scale-appropriate equipment, while discussions are ongoing with facilities such as the Belarus programme, which has provided the bulk of tractors and combine harvesters.

“The focus is there to capacitate the smallholder farmer because we are looking at the pieces of land as a result of land reform. So we are negotiating for more with Belarus for smaller tractors to specifically help such areas A1 and A2 which we will briny below the 240, 280 horsepower,” said Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri.

Apart from these models, the government is facilitating reverse engineering of agriculture implements, providing equipment and collaborating with engineers and tertiary institutions to champion the manufacturing of small-scale equipment.

Zimbabwe has benefitted immensely from its strategic partnership with Belarus, with the country receiving tractors, combined harvesters, fire-fighting equipment and public transport buses.