Turkey to provide mechanisation, irrigation expertise to Zimbabwe Dr Joseph Made
Dr Joseph Made

Dr Joseph Made

Morris Mkwate in MALABO, Equatorial Guinea
THE Turkish government is set to provide farm mechanisation and irrigation expertise to Zimbabwe under a proposed initiative aimed at increasing agricultural production and efficiency. The two countries are already drafting a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the programme.

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Dr Joseph Made, who discussed the plan with his Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Mehdi Eker, here yesterday, said special focus will be dedicated to dairy farming, horticulture, and training.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 23rd African Union Heads of State and Government Summit, which ran under the theme: “Agriculture and Food Security”.

Dr Made said Zimbabwe has a great deal to learn from Turkey, which has developed massive farming and irrigation technologies over the years.

The minister would not be drawn into divulging the provisional implementation timeframe, but indicated the initiative was a top priority.

“I am happy to say that there is a proposal for a Memorandum of Understanding that we are developing over the coming months. Of particular interest is, obviously, the field of mechanisation. Turkey is endowed in the sense of having developed the capacity.

“We would want capacity developed so that it is applied in the livestock (sector), in particular the dairy part of agriculture. Turkey has over the years developed the dairy industry, which is very important in today’s world.”

Dr Made said Zimbabwe was endowed with critical resources to build dairy production capacity, although expertise was required to further improve the sector.

He said government was geared towards ensuring food and nutrition security, as it affects women and children. The authorities are also considering the employment potential of this agriculture sub-sector.

“Industrially, the dairy sector has a multiplier effect because you start with producing the crop that you then feed to dairy. You then take the industrial, and deal with processing and the value chain in terms of the multiplier effect of the dairy sector.

“Many people may not know that but it’s involved so much. It even presents the opportunity to create employment. Turkey has taken it to a level that is sophisticated; that is full of research and technology, and Africa is struggling with youth unemployment.

“We have also agreed that along with the dairy sector, we should also look at the totality of livestock. We should deal with poultry, piggery. Zimbabwe has the potential to expand the goat population for its own use and even exports.”

The government has set out to optimise agricultural production and efficiency under the auspices of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation’s Food and Nutrition Cluster.

Mechanising and modernising the sector have been identified as key production catalysts. Tractors and small-scale implements have been distributed over the years, but a lot still needs to be done to expand mechanisation.

Turkey began mechanised farming over 50 years ago with the number of tractors now nearing one  million.

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