By Darlington Mutsvairi
President Emmerson Mnangagwa today launched the Agricultural and food systems transformation strategy that is a fused plan of action that is drawn from the Agricultural recovery and livestock growth plans and is intended to achieve a US$8.2 billion agrarian based economy by 2025.
Officiating at the opening of the two day Agribusiness annual conference, President Mnangagwa said the strategy and plans were a bold statement and a constant reminder to all stakeholders in the agriculture sector to be more dedicated in the process of growing the economy.
The President further said that a co-ordinated and multi-sectorial approach is what will make the Agricultural and food systems transformation strategy a success.
“I am pleased that this two-pronged occasion comes at the heels of my recent launch of the US$5 billion Tourism Strategy in Victoria Falls as well as the earlier launch of the US$12 billion Mining Industry Strategy.
“The Agriculture and Food Systems Strategy complements the above and is an integral part of our national development agenda. This is aimed at industrialisation, modernisation and creating a sustainable investment environment for our society.
“The three mutually reinforcing strategies envision the attainment of a US$25 billion economy in the three respective sectors by 2025,” he said.
The conference’s agenda is to tackle issues to do with challenges in production and productivity being faced by the agricultural sector and come up with best solutions as the 2020/21 summer cropping season fast approaches, while the solutions would be complimentary to the already in place, command agriculture and pfumvudza programs.
The conference is being hosted by the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS). Since its inception, the annual conference traditionally launched on the eve of the Harare Agricultural Show which unfortunately could not take place this year owing to the global covid-19 pandemic.
