'Zimbabwe won't apologise for land reforms'

THE successful agrarian reform that corrected land ownership imbalances remains irreversible as evidenced by the Second Republic's bankrolling beneficiaries' activities to help Zimbabwe regain its breadbasket status, Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Deputy Minister Douglas Karoro has said.

Speaking in Chinhoyi recently during the Strategic Agriculture Conference in Africa that attracted delegates from Nigeria, he said: "The Government will continue to support its women and youths who benefited through the successful Land Reform Programme. The Second Republic stands for its people and will continue to support the nation.

"We are the beneficiaries of the land reform programme and Zimbabwe remains unapologetic to the West for the decision to take back our land from the white minority."

Deputy Minister Karoro said through agrarian reform which started in 2000, about 171 000 A1 and A2 households benefited from 9 million hectares of land.

Before the reform, at least 4 000 white farmers owned over 15 million hectares of land that constituted 45 percent of prime arable land in regions one to three.

To boost productivity on the farms, Government is now prioritising support to farmers with machinery and inputs under various schemes including the Command Agriculture and Presidential Inputs Scheme, commonly known as Pfumvudza/Intwasa.

Deputy Minister Karoro said the Agriculture and Food Systems Strategy was a strong component of the National Development Strategy 1, which envisioned the attainment of a US$8 billion agricultural industry by 2025.

The target has already been achieved after farmers did well in the last season.

Apart from rolling out the US$52 million Belarus equipment facility and US$50 million John Deere tractor facility for farm mechanisation, Zimbabwe has also supported manufacturers making farming equipment.

Niger State Agriculture and Natural Resources Ministry Commissioner, Engineer Ibrahim Panti, lauded Zimbabwe's agricultural recovery strategy and spoke of possible imports of farming equipment to help mechanise agriculture sector in Nigeria.

"We are one of the biggest States in Nigeria with over 5,5 million people and 25 percent of Nigeria's total land mass.

"Zimbabweans are proud Africans who can feed themselves and we witnessed that throughout our tours. It is encouraging to see a lot of people including youths venturing into proper mechanised farming with support from the Government," said Eng Panti, who led the delegation.

He said in Niger State, there are lots of investment opportunities that include livestock commercial farming and importation of manufacturing equipment.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland West Mary Mliswa-Chikoka said Africans must lead from the front in solving the challenges they face.

The conference was a brainchild of Nigerian Agri-magazine and Zimbabwe's Summer Hill Farm, with the two nations' organisers, Ms Carolyn Isaac and Ms Nomhle Mliswa, saying the idea was to set up a platform to understand Zimbabwe's agriculture for the benefit of other African nations.