Agric show provides limitless opportunities to firms

The 112th edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS) started in Harare in earnest yesterday with close to 600 exhibiting firms upbeat to clinch deals at the end of the five-day event that ends on Saturday.

ZAS is being held under the theme, “Unequalled Business Opportunities: Accessibility, Accountability and Abundance”.

When this paper visited the exhibition centre, some of the exhibitors were in the morning still putting final touches on their stands and by mid-day most of the exhibits were on display.

About 600 exhibitors are exhibiting at this year’s show which is coming for the first time in two years under a normal environment after the restrictions induced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The exhibitors include agricultural implements suppliers, input producers, insurance firms, engineering and mining companies among others.

The Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (ZICORBA) president, Regies Nyamakanga, whose organisation was formed in July 2020 and exhibiting at the show for the first time, said their main objective of exhibiting was to share experiences about rabbit production, processing and marketing.

The two-year-old association is showcasing a number of rabbit breeds that include New Zealand White, New Zealand Red, New Zealand Black, Cinnamon, Carlifornian, Flemish Giant, Chinchilla Giganta, Angora, American Sable, and Magen’a.

“Our main objective is to showcase the different aspects of rabbit farming and to encourage the majority of Zimbabweans, especially women and the youths, to partake in cuniculture production to shore-up their livelihoods and income.

“Rabbit production is one of the fastest growing livestock sectors in Zimbabwe and one of the livestock value-chains that the Government is promoting under its five-year Livestock Growth Plan. Over the next three to five years, we expect the cuniculture sector to earn between US$2,5 million and US$5 million per year in domestic sales,” the ZICORBA boss said.

He said opportunities abound for the export of rabbit meat in the Africa region and beyond. China is the single largest consumer of rabbit meat with an estimated deficit of 400 000 tonnes rabbit meat per year.

In a separate interview, Kurima Machinery & Technology sales executive, Tanaka Chikomba, whose firm is involved supporting small-scale farmers with agricultural machinery and equipment said:

“This year we are expecting a better turn out compared to last year. Last year people were not that informed about the show as compared to this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. People were scared to move around and interact.

“This year we are expecting to seal lucrative deals. Some of the machinery that we are supplying to farmers is a walking tractor that we introduced this year, maize shellers, milking machines, feed mixers, and hammer mills for processing stock feed like silage.”

The agriculture sector is one of Zimbabwe’s major economic mainstays and in recent past the Government has continued to roll out a number of initiatives to boost productivity in the sector.

Such initiatives include the National Enhanced Agricultural Production Scheme, Presidential Climate Proofed and the Presidential Rural Horticulture and Livestock Programmes.

The agriculture sector has already hit the initial 2025 target of US$8,2 billion a year as the industry grew by 36,2 percent to US$8,19 billion in 2021.

In 2020, the Government launched the Agriculture and Food Systems Strategy as an integral part of the national development agenda being driven by President Mnangagwa.

The strategy is underpinned by growing the economy, ensuring Zimbabwe grows its own food and ensuring that a vast swathe of rural families moves from poverty to growing affluence with the production rises spread right across the sectors.-ebusinessweely