Government rolling out food security programs

By Joyce Mukucha

The Government has said it was geared to roll out a number of programs to achieve food security in the country and ensure that by the year 2023, no commodities such as maize and other grains will be imported.

The efforts are aimed at ensuring that farmers in the country get adequate support to increase food production.

In an interview with state media in Harare on Sunday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, and Rural Resettlement, Dr. John Basera said an agriculture recovery blueprint was already in process to ensure that targets are reached in attaining vision 2030.

He said agriculture was vulnerable to climate change and Zimbabwe has not being spared for the past years thus the need to adopt an agricultural recovery system.

“Climate change has not been sparing us, therefore, the agriculture recovery plan has the strategic intention to reverse the current stance in the food production sub-sector through mechanization programs.

“Again and more importantly and very generous, the presidential inputs scheme and the Pfumvudza scheme, I’m very sure we are on course to achieve the set target to ensure that by 2023 we do not import a single grain of either soya or traditional grains and maize.

“We are very much on course on putting agriculture at the centre stage of achieving vision 2030,” Dr Basera said.