Story by Story by Josephine Mugiyo, Diplomatic Correspondent
HARARE- DELIVERING on its promises has been a key tenet of the Second Republic and over the years, numerous projects across various sectors have seen new territories being charted.
This Tuesday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa handed over 60 vehicles to the agriculture ministry as well as 30 carrier trucks of which 20 will be given to the Grain Marketing Board while 10 will be handed over to ARDA.
Recognising that agriculture is the backbone of the country’s economy, the Second Republic has put in place various measures to boost production.
As he handed over the 60 vehicles and 30 grain carriers, the head of state reiterated government’s commitment to prioritising the agriculture sector and the national vision to attain food security.
“I am sure you are fully aware that Zimbabwe’s economy is Agriculture based, and it is therefore critically important that we capacitate the sector, and this is evidence to say we are directing our efforts to capacitating the sector, which is the backbone of our economy,” he said.
As new dams are being built, new irrigation schemes being established and new vehicles and equipment being sourced, President Mnangagwa emphasised the need for professionalism among those working in the sector.
“We need to have more qualified persons to maintain the equipment that we have, because we can have all the equipment and if we do not have qualified dedicated personnel all this equipment will go to waste but it is necessary that we have dedicated personnel to promoting our vision in the agriculture sector,” he added.
Mr Musekiwa Murisa who has worked as a field worker in the Agriculture Ministry for the past 35 years, appreciates the strides made by the Second Republic to capacitate them as grass root workers.
“In my 35 years of service I do not recall a time where we as filed workers were given vehicles. I remember that when I joined vehicles had been given a year before but since then nothing came to us hence we are grateful,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Professor Obert Jiri expressed gratitude to President Mnangagwa for the vehicles, revealing the Grain Marketing Board has been hiring carrier trucks for the harvesting process, incurring costs in the process.
“This will make it easy for the district officers to implement their target. GMB has always been hiring trucks to move grain so you can imagine the costs it incurs every year. This will go a long way in capacitating the grain marketing board,” he said.
Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) Chief Executive Officer Mr Tinotenda Mhiko said the grain carrier trucks will greatly improve operations in pursuit of increased production.
“This is going to help significantly in improvement of our supply chain efficiencies, narrowing down to logistics, looking at your firstly line of logistics transportation of seed fertiliser, and last mile logistics and movement of harvests and ultimately it promotes timely delivery of inputs and promotes food self-sufficiency. We were hiring 30 tonne trucks a month this will cut done out logistics costs by about 34% per month,” he said.
The President also handed over six thousand Star Link-enabled portable energy stations to be used by Agriculture Extension Officers.
It emerged more investments in the agricultural sector are in the pipeline and one step at a time, the country is destined to achieve its set agricultural targets.
