ZIMBABWE Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Shadreck Makombe and Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) secretary-general Paul Zakariya are part of a high-powered panel that will discuss the sustainability of Zimbabwe’s agriculture in an upcoming webinar set for next Monday.
The webinar, to be headlined by Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement minister Anxious Masuka, will also include Tobacco Research Board chief executive officer Dahlia Garwe, agricultural economist Peter Gambara and livestock specialist Paul Chatikobo.
Hosts of the highly-anticipated event, the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) — publishers of the Daily News and the Daily News on Sunday — are happy with the calibre of the panel.
“The imminent webinar is a timely event for stakeholders in the agricultural sector ahead of the 2021/22 summer cropping season.
“For this reason, we had to assemble a panel with the necessary experience and skill set to tackle the subject at hand.
“We are confident that they will hold an insightful discussion with the minister of Agriculture. After the very successful season we have just had, it is important to build on this success which came after the nation had endured devastating droughts. The theme ‘Reinforcing the sustainability of agriculture in Zimbabwe’ is therefore very appropriate,” said ANZ commercial director Lewis Chikurunhe.
Among other objectives, Chikurunhe said the forthcoming webinar would explore ways to take the country’s agricultural sector a notch up by tapping into the expertise of a very knowledgeable panel.
“We pride ourselves on consistently providing a platform on which Zimbabweans can discuss matters of national significance. The forthcoming webinar is a continuation of this tradition. We are hopeful the webinar will bring to the table important ideas that can take this country forward,” said Chikurunhe.
The webinar, to be moderated by Christina Nyirenda-Chimuka, comes amid projections by the government that the agriculture sector will grow to more than US$8,2 billion within the next four years.
According to a recent statement by minister Masuka, Zimbabwe experienced massive growth in agriculture last year as a result of collaborative efforts between the government and the private sector.
“In the first year of implementation, we have grown from US$5,8 billion to US$7,8 billion. This confirms that the target will be passed this year and agriculture will be much more than an US$8,2 billion industry by 2022, ahead of the initial deadline of 2025,” he told State media recently.
