The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
TO support the implementation and rolling out of the Horticulture Export Revolving Fund, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development is finalising the development of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Marketing and Trade Plan (ZAMTP).
This comes after Government is working on establishing a Horticulture Export Revolving Fund to the tune of US$30 million in line with the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan. Responding to questions from Sunday News, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister Douglas Karoro said the establishment of the Horticulture Export Revolving Fund was a welcome development.
“The establishment of the Horticulture Export Revolving Fund is a welcome development and will help deal with financing gap that has been constraining the growth and development of the sub-sector.
Horticulture is one of the key sub-sectors of the agriculture sector in Zimbabwe, and is projected under the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan (HRGP) to contribute export earnings of US$300 million per year from current US$35 million by 2030,” said Deputy Minister Karoro.
He said that to attain and sustain such a growth, the country needs to address the major constraints impacting the horticulture value chains with the major one being the limited access to appropriately structured financing mechanism especially foreign currency for essential inputs. Deputy Minister Karoro said the Zimbabwe Agricultural Marketing and Trade Plan seeks to strengthen the institutional framework to ensure coordinated agricultural marketing and trade.
“It will also save to promote sustainable agricultural trade and marketing financing and investment as well as marketing infrastructure and agro logistics.
Establishment of the Fund will enable revival of the sector by facilitating importation of critical inputs along the value chain and improving production, productivity and competitiveness to enhance exports, value addition and gross value for the sector.
Historically, the horticultural sector has generated significant amounts of foreign exchange, at one point being the second largest foreign exchange earner after tobacco in the agriculture sector.”
He said the Ministry, working with the Horticulture Development Council and key stakeholders produced a Horticulture Export Revolving Fund proposal which is with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for the establishment of the fund.
One of the country’s biggest agricultural enterprises, Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) said it continues to record resounding success in their horticultural production.
ARDA chief executive officer Mr Tinotenda Mhiko said: “Arda is currently exporting some of its horticultural produce such as herbs to Germany and is in the process of expanding exports.
We are targeting to generate at least 30 percent of our revenues from exports. We are also looking forward to benefit as well from the Horticulture Export Revolving Fund.”
The Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan seeks to grow the area under horticulture from 36 606 hectares to 55 348 hectares by 2025.
The real gross value production is expected to increase from US$3.3 billion to US$3.9 billion while export earnings are expected to increase from US$35 million per year to US$300 million by 2030.
