Story by Josephine Mugiyo, Diplomatic Correspondent

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is in Kenya for the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit.

The President was received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Kenya, Ambassador Winpeg Moyo and officials from the Kenyan government.

Upon arrival, the President signed the visitors’ book at the airport.

The summit which comes 18 years after the first conference in Abuja, Nigeria has been necessitated by the need to boost food security on the continent.

The last two days have seen the ministers of agriculture and foreign affairs from across the region holding meetings where the performance of the agriculture sector was high on the agenda.

In his presentation on Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka revealed that 62 percent of the country’s population is dependent on agriculture for their sustenance.

He also highlighted that agriculture employs 25 percent of the country’s population in the formal sector.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Frederick Shava attended the joint Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture Session this Wednesday where he noted Zimbabwe’s support to the draft declaration to strengthen research and development on the utilisation of organic and non-organic fertilisers.

“Zimbabwe supports the call to capacitate the Africa Centre for Fertiliser Development as its mandate includes research in fertilizer and soil health issues. The summit offers an opportunity to revitalise and strengthen the centre and through it support research and development of fertilizers in Zimbabwe,” said Ambassador Shava.

The summit will be officially opened this Thursday and President Mnangagwa will be joining other heads of state for the ceremony.