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In pursuit of alleviating food insecurity in the country, Turkish organisations have partnered with the Government of Zimbabwe in agricultural projects in Mashonaland West Province.
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in conjunction with Islamic Information Bureau Trust represented by Mr. Adam Wadi and the Dost Eli executed a successful agricultural project at the Riverside Farm in Banket.
“Under this project, we targeted 4 farms combined in the Banket area where we grew maize on a large scale. We worked with the beneficiaries right from the beginning. This was after realizing that most farmers lack the capital to run successful agricultural enterprises. As a result, we supported the farmers with tillage, labour, seeds, fertilizers, and agricultural extension services provided by officers from Agritex.
“The result is that there was a bumper harvest from the projects. From the 201-2022 season’s harvest, we have identified beneficiaries from more than 400 families in the farming community of Banket. We distribute to each family of six (the beneficiaries) four 50kg bags of maize each. The gesture by Turkey shows the extent to which the two countries enjoy cordial relations,” Mr. Wadi said.
According to the IFT Foundation, more people are projected to be food insecure in Southern Africa in 10 years than today, though the share of the population that is food insecure is projected to fall from 44% to 36%. Slow economic growth and macroeconomic instability are expected to increase the number of food-insecure people in Central Africa to 89 million by 2028, up 11%.