President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday launched an ambitious strategy that seeks to transform Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector into a multi-billion-dollar industry within the next five years.
Speaking during the launch of the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy in Harare, Mnangagwa said the thrust of the strategy is to revive the agricultural sector so that it once again becomes the mainstay of Zimbabwe’s economy, generating more than US$8.2 billion a year by 2025.
“This is aimed at industrialisation, modernisation and creating a sustainable investment environment for our society,” Mnangagwa said.
In line with the vision of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to which the country is a member, Zimbabwe is pursuing a programme to strengthen its industrial base and agriculture is seen as one of the potential drivers of that industrialisation drive.
The strategy comes at a time Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector has been struggling to regain its previous lustre when it used to account for a sizeable proportion of the country’s gross domestic product and employment figures.
According to Mnangagwa, the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy would require a multi sectoral approach involving the government, private sector players and farmer organisations.
JN/APA