Story by Tendai Munengwa
A High-Level Conference aimed at expanding financial inclusion for smallholder farmers to enhance agricultural productivity and strengthen food security has commenced in Nairobi, Kenya.
Supported by the Kenyan government, the African Development Bank, and Pan-African Farmers, the conference has attracted a broad representation of international development partners and senior government officials from across the continent including Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri.
“We have our agriculture in Zimbabwe that is the mainstay of the economy, contributing 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and smallholder farmers are the biggest contributor to that, but local banks are contributing only three percent to smallholder farming,” Professor Jiri said.
“This needs to be revisited, we have a situation where small-scale farmers are competing for inputs with commercial farmers as well as competing for markets. We need to have a holistic approach to rectify this.”
The Nairobi Conference is also expected to brainstorm possibilities of mobilising resources to conduct climate-proof awareness and important ways to boost production such as soil testing and viable markets, especially for smallholder farmers.
