Vocational skills centre establishment to empower Mwenezi youths

A youth vocational skills training centre in Mwenezi district (Masvingo) is set to empower communities, with its construction being part of national thrust to harness green agricultural technologies.

This will complement the country's quest for the realisation of an upper-middle-income society status by 2030.

Speaking during an interview recently, Mr Englebert Dzimbanhete, who is the Sustainable Agriculture Technology (SAT) Project Coordinator has disclosed that youths are set to be imparted with necessary skills to drive the economy forward.

"We have established a Youth Vocational Skills Training Centre (YVSTC) that targets those aged between 18 to 35 years for training. Currently, we are in the process of collecting applications for metal fabrication, solar installation and drip irrigation installation training programmes which will start on 31 March 2025," Dzimbanhete said.

"These trainings will also help in complementing labour supply, provision of specialised knowledge, rural innovation, research and sustainable development. In that process, it will a means necessary to empower future leaders, who are the youths," Dzimbanhete added.

"Meanwhile the current project is supporting two main value chains in terms of production and market end provisions. These values are Sesame and the Paprika/Chillies value chain," Dzimbanhete said.

"Under the Sesame value chain, last year alone we managed to buy about 254 metric tonnes of Sesame from Mwenezi at an average price of a $1.00 per kg which translates to about US$254 000.00 ejected to the communities through Sesame buying," Dzimbanhete disclosed.

Dzimbanhete claimed that, cumulatively, the sesame buying component resulted in about $280,000 cash injection as some of the funds were used for employment of casual labourers and paying for transport services.

Of the 254MT, 212MT were exported to Japan (151MT) and Mozambique (61MT). The balance was processed to various items like Sesame seed, oil, cake, and dehulled sesame.

"On the Paprika side, farmers produce and sell their Paprika through the MSC for $2.00 per kg of grade A Paprika. Cumulatively, about 78MT of Paprika have been traded through the MSC aggregated from Masvingo and Mwenezi farmers," Dzimbanhete added.

Dzimbanhete added that part of that was sold raw before the installation of the Paprika mill and thereafter, all the purchased Paprika is milled before being sold.

"In both cases, farmers were organised into associations and formally registered as co-operative companies either as Mwenezi Paprika/Sesame Agriculture Growers Cooperative Society. These two Cooperative companies have a shareholding of 24.5% to their parent companies, PapriAfrika (for the Paprika Cooperative) and SesAfrika (for the Sesame Cooperative)," Dzimbanhete said.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Ezra Chadzamira has concurred with Dzimbanhete whilst emphasising that the province is embarking on complementing President Emmerson Mnangagwa's Vision for empowering youths.

"Youths in Masvingo Province will continue to benefit from the President's initiatives including those focusing on skills development, research and innovation. He emphasised that youths are tomorrow's leadership hence giving them opportunity to acquire knowledge and specialised skills would compliment the attainment of an upper-middle income economic status by 2030," Chadzamira said.

"Agriculture forms the backborne of Zimbabwe and if the youths are equipped with necessary skills, that is the best investment for generations to come. Sesame and Paprika project has played a crucial role in employment creation amongst our youths, skills and knowledge transfer will be realised, among other issues," Chadzamira said.