Staff Reporter

Government has challenged the youths to venture into agriculture as the sector still has potential to offer numerous opportunities that will propel them to economic success.

In a speech read on his behalf by Minister  of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Anxious Masuka (last Friday), Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said that the agriculture sector continued to be the back-bone of the Zimbabwean economy and urged the youths to be active participants in the sector.

“The Agriculture sector continues to be the back-bone of the Zimbabwean economy, contributing between 16-20 percent of the GDP and 40 percent to exports. It is worth noting that youth in agriculture play a significant role in enhancing food and nutrition security through their active participation in agricultural production.

“The Agricultural sector is considered strategic in terms of high employment opportunities since most production systems are labour intensive. On a similar note, the use of technology in agriculture is another pull factor in as far as youth in farming are concerned. It is pleasing to note that some intergovernmental agencies such as the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) have seen the importance of investing through youth in agriculture,” said Vice President Chiwenga.

The Vice President said that the milestone achievements of the youths in agriculture were being noticed and challenged the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to continue supporting and capacitating the youths.

Vice President Chiwenga added that the country’s economy was very much agro-based and said that Government would continue to give priority to the sector through various programmes such as farm mechanization and ensures that a certain quota was reserved for the youth. He further called upon the private sector to continue complementing the Government’s efforts in order to develop the agriculture sector to its maximum potential.

Coming to the event of that day, Vice President Chiwenga said that youths that were nominated to receive awards were chosen because of their outstanding contribution to the agricultural sector.

Speaking at the same event, Minister Masuka challenged youths to productively utilise land and said some of the young people should consider venturing into food processing systems. He informed that going forward, 20 percent of all the available land would be allocated to the youths who had the capacity to produce.

Meanwhile, Shepherd Nyika of Manicaland Province scooped the 2021/2022 Young Champion Farmer Award. Other winners were 19 year old Steady Chabata, Patience Kanyemba and Mercyline Tembo, among other winners.