By Rutendo Jiri

Government should capacitate Agricultural Extension Services Officers in efforts to transform and modernize the country’s agriculture, a Government official has said.

Posting on his twitter account, the Minister of Agriculture, Water, Environment and Climate, Mr John Basera said agricultural extension services play a central role in the country’s agriculture and called on Government to prioritize extension service officers whom he described as key in transforming the country’s agriculture sector.

“Extension services capacitation is key to agricultural transformation,” he said on twitter.

Agriculture extension service officers have always been part of the country’s agriculture and have been scattered across the country’s largely rural farming areas.

Calls by Mr Basera to capacitate extension service officers come at an opportune time, when President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched Government’s Pfumvudza drought crop farming technique which is currently being rolled out in the country’s provinces.  

There are numerous reports of farmers across the country who have already started receiving farming inputs under Pfumvudza.

The role of agriculture extension service officers should be seen as key to transforming the country’s agricultural practices.  A majority of these officers live and work hand in hand with rural communities.

Their knowledge has been used by the majority of local farmers in agriculture and animal husbandry.

These officers are key as they provide immediate knowledge of disease and pest control outbreaks to rural farmers.

Their capacitation would improve the knowledge and skills which they in turn impart to rural farmers which creates a sustainable knowledge resource base.