President Mnangagwa has handed over 72 tractors and 10 combine harvesters sourced from Belarus with a combined value of US$7,4 million to youths to boost their participation in agriculture.
He also
announced a complementary initiative worth US$10 million to set up irrigation
systems for Youth Business Units, as he delivers on his promise to facilitate
young people’s participation in the economy. At the handover ceremony, which
took place at the Agricultural Mechanisation Facility in Hatcliffe, Harare,
yesterday, President Mnangagwa pledged to pay 50 percent of the total cost for
the cutting-edge equipment from his own pocket.
The latest
initiative is a follow up to the Presidential Youth Empowerment Revolving Fund
which was launched by the President at the Harare International Conference
Centre. The Government is buying tractors from Belarus to resell to farmers
under flexible financing terms through Empower Bank.
The programme
also comes with a three-year repayment period, no collateral and an interest
rate of 7,5 percent per annum. For the Youth Mechanisation Facility, the
President is paying US$3,7 million from his own pocket and youths will pay the
balance.
Farmers
accessing the facility will receive heavy-duty tractors, including the 81, 107,
130 and 155 horsepower models.
Overall, this
year, the country will take delivery of 800 units of advanced farm equipment
from Belarus, including over 700 tractors. Officiating at the event yesterday,
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious
Masuka said the equipment is intended to be distributed among youth business
clusters as part of the Government’s broader strategy to modernise agriculture
and create employment opportunities for young people.
“I appreciate
and know the role of mechanisation as an enabler of agricultural modernisation,
and accelerating agricultural transformation.
“It is in this
regard that today we gather here to formally hand over 72 tractors and two of
10 combine harvesters availed by the President, His Excellency Dr ED Mnangagwa,
to accelerate the transformation of the agricultural space,” said Dr Masuka.
He outlined the
potential impact of the equipment.
“With 72
tractors, you can till on average, we say, one horsepower per one hectare . . .
so, 72 tractors are able to do 7 700 hectares.
“So, it is an
additional area that we want tilled for agriculture starting this winter and
more importantly going into summer,” Dr Masuka said.
He further
projected that the initiative could yield substantial returns.
“And once this
area has been tilled, my expectation is that being youth, your average yield
will be nowhere near or less than five tonnes per hectare and with two crops a
year, it means that these tractors will enable 77 000 metric tonnes of grain to
be delivered to the Grain Marketing Board and other marketers. My expectation
therefore is that the value addition as a result of this intervention will be
US$26 million,” Dr Masuka said.
The minister
stressed the importance of accountability and proper utilisation of the
equipment. Herald
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