By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana)— The agricultural equipment acquired by Zimbabwe from Belarus has pushed the country’s mechanisation drive upwards, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
In an interview with the press after a tour of some of the equipment from Belarus which is being exhibited at the ongoing Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Prof Dr Obert Jiri, said cooperation between the two countries has immensely improved mechanisation of local farming.
“The introduction of the Belarus factor has really revolutionarised our agriculture and now we are seeing our mechanisation development index moving from as low as 20 percent to over 43 percent which is massive in terms of access and of machinery in our agriculture,” he said.
He said the cooperation between the two countries is currently going on well.
“We are cooperating in terms of tractor provision and now we have imported quite a number of tractors from Belarus. Now we are in the third phase and we are doing well.
“Looking forward, we want every village to be mechanised so that we ensure that in every village, the production is mechanised and modernized.
“So we are really grateful to Belarus they have availed themselves so that as Zimbabwe we have access to good quality equipment,” said Prof Dr Jiri.
Belarus Ambassador to Zimbabwe Yuri Borovikov committed his country’s support to local agriculture.
“Since the signing of the roadmap for strategic cooperation and partnership ,we have witnessed Belarus companies support to Zimbabwe’s agriculture through not only maintenance of equipment but through knowledge transfer to locals,” he said.
Zimbabwe and Belarus signed several MoUs in 2023 during President Mnangagwa’s visit to Minsk, aimed at boosting trade and industrial cooperation.
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