Story by Josephine Mugiyo
President Emmerson Mnangagwa says his government will focus on recruiting experts at the African Centre for Fertiliser Development housed in Harare.
The centre was established by the African Union, but has been lying dormant for years.
The matter came to light during the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit, which was attended by African heads of state in Nairobi, Kenya this Thursday, where several issues to do with the impact of fertiliser and soil health on the region’s agricultural yields were discussed.
President Mnangagwa, who was speaking from Nairobi after attending the summit, said the focus will now be on recruiting experts who will ensure the centre delivers on its primary mandate.
“It has been there, it was an AU decision a long time back. It has been dormant, but now there is realisation by the rest of Africa that it is necessary to capacitate it to make sure it provides services for which it was created and I am happy that we host the continental centre. Zimbabwe is the centre for fertilizer development, and we are now going to put more focus on making sure we recruit the expertise in that field to make sure the centre delivers on its mandate,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe will need to improve on fertiliser production and pay more attention to the requirements of the soil to maximise production per hectare.
“We are behind in terms of fertilizer production. As I was listening to what was being presented, what is required… we have always thought that the application of fertilizer was normal year after year, but it’s not like that. Soil itself gets aged, fertilizers cannot continue to be the same, but continue to be improved depending on the climate of the region.”
The summit also saw the leaders speak on the effects of climate change and possible mitigatory measures.
