The Sunday News
DR JOHN Basera was awarded as one of the top permanent secretaries for surpassing production of major crops while new irrigation systems were installed and rehabilitation of old systems.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) also drilled boreholes and constructed dams which heralds some of his achievements. He has been hard working to promote and sustain a viable, appropriately mechanised agriculture sector in a changing climate.
Overall functions: Formulate, review and implement viable agricultural policies, develop strategies to ensure food self-sufficiency and security as well as for export, develop strategies to rebuild the national herd and dairy herd, design strategies and guidelines for the implementation of enterprise or industry specific policy objectives through the various technical departments and other major players in the agricultural sector, analyse, assess, monitor and evaluate the impact of the national agricultural and climate policies, provide agricultural engineering, mechanisation and irrigation services to the agricultural sector, identify and develop effective markets and marketing systems for agricultural products, coordinate and mainstream implementation of regional and International treaties, protocols, agreements and standards into our national laws, develop, implement and monitor policies on water, climate, weather and seismic issues and legislation for sustainable development, provide leadership in the advocacy and awareness of water, climate, weather and seismic issues, facilitate and coordinate capacity development in the areas of water, climate, weather and seismology and, participate in the development and implementation of SADC and other regional and international organisations’ water resources management frameworks.
The improved productivity that government is experiencing as a result of the performance contracts will have ripple effects in the country including the private sector.
Non-governmental organisations need to take a leaf from what government has done to improve productivity in their organisation for the benefit of our people. These contracts will also help organisations to identify under-performing individuals. Performance contracts for their CEOs will be a game changer for these organisations.
Dr Baserais a Zimbabwean renowned agronomist in the private sector and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement. He is a former CBZ Holdings Technical Director (Agriculture) in 2019 and Manager Seed Co Group Southern Africa in 2015.
Dr Basera attended Elise Gledhill Secondary School and St Joseph’s High School. He holds a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Agriculture from the University of Zimbabwe (2010) and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) and Maastricht School of Management (MSM). He also holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in Agribusiness Development and Business Dynamics.
He has extensive experience in agriculture with a focus on agronomy, agricultural research extension services, agricultural value chain management, agricultural strategy, finance and marketing in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Namibia. Dr Basera worked in the private sector including Seed Co and technical director in charge of the agriculture portfolio at CBZ.
Dr Basera worked as Seed-Co Limited’s agronomy and extension services manager where he was responsible for programmes to enhance rural transformation through increased agriculture support to smallholder farmers. John has always been a proponent of Conservation Agriculture as a magic bullet in mitigating the adverse effects of Climate Change.
He was appointed the Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement in November 2019 replacing long serving senior civil servant Mr Ringson Chitsiko and his appointment took effect from 1 January 2020. In February 2021, Basera was named as the Young Corporate Director for the year 2020 by the Institute of Corporate Directors Zimbabwe (ICDZ).
The Ministry’s mission: At the end of the day it’s all about improving the lives of our people.-Harare Bureau.
