Story by Josephine Mugiyo, Diplomatic Correspondent
THE Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has pledged to work with Zimbabwe in ensuring sustainable use of water resources and land to achieve food security.
This came out when President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy this Tuesday.
President Mnangagwa, who was in Rome to attend the Italy-Africa Summit, was at the FAO headquarters this Tuesday, where he held a closed-door meeting with the institution’s Director general, QU Dongyu.
In an interview after the meeting, the FAO Director General gave an insight into how they will support Zimbabwe’s food security drive.
“We are now focusing on how to increase food security, how to sustainably use the technology and biodiversity to work with farmers in value chains and how to sustainably use the land, water and biodiversity,” he said.
The meeting comes at a time when the Second Republic has invested over US$2 billion towards the agricultural sector since 2020.
There has been a sustained effort to construct dams and establish new irrigation schemes to climate proof agriculture.
Meanwhile, the president of the Convivium Africa organisation Dr Alfonso Ippolito paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa this Tuesday, with the company setting its eyes on investing in solar energy.
“We are interested in doing a solar project in Gweru. We will start with 100 megawatts, and we wish to reach 500 megawatts,” noted Ippolito.
This comes at a time when government has made huge strides in increasing power supply through projects such as the Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7 and 8 Expansion Project.
