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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday launched the Provincial Integrated Youths Skills Development Centres (PIYSDC) for each of the country’s 10 provinces where over 500 youths will be recruited annually to learn agriculture skills.

The launch of the agricultural incubation centres saw the President distributing 698 heifers to youths across all the provinces under the Presidential Heifer Pass-on Scheme as Government moves to empower youths.

Under the PIYSDC, the President said he had directed each Provincial Minister to identify 500 hectares of land which will be dedicated for youths’ projects.

Speaking during the launch of the centres at DCK Farm on the outskirts of Kwekwe yesterday, President Mnangagwa said agriculture was one of the major pillars of the economy hence the Second Republic’s thrust to empower youths who constitute 62 percent of the country’s population.

He said Government will provide the necessary infrastructure, tools to train youths on various aspects of agriculture guided by the “farm to fork “mantra.

“Today’s launch of the provincial Integrated Youths Skills Development Centres will also see the handover of 698 heifers to young people drawn from all rural districts of the country.

“This is in line with my Government’s policy to mainstream participation of the youths in national programmes, across all sectors, as well as in politics and governance architecture,” he said.

President Mnangagwa urged youths to take a keen interest in agriculture.

He said they must take advantage of the Second Republic’s policy of a 20 percent youths’ quota under the land reform programme.

Youths, the President added, are the leaders of tomorrow, hence the need to empower them so that they have a bright future.

President Mnangagwa said youths who will undergo training at the centres which will also act as incubation centres will receive inputs from Government to boost crop and livestock production.

“Youths who will go through these incubation centres will receive inputs from the Government to kick-start their projects,” he said.

To boost productivity, the centres will be supported by various inputs support schemes including the heifer pass-on support scheme which saw 698 heifers being distributed across the country.

President Mnangagwa said provinces should start identifying pieces of land to establish the agricultural incubation centres for youths targeting 500 of them yearly.

“Each province must have 500 youths empowered per year. So, my Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube will now put a provision in the budget directed to empowering this programme,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said provincial Ministers should work closely with the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority to make sure the Government’s youth empowerment programmes succeed.

The President said land was the greatest resource that the country can utilise to overcome the effects of the illegal sanctions imposed by Britain and her allies to cripple the economy.

“We have to overcome the sanctions imposed on our country and how can we do that? We mobilise our own resources to develop our own country and we identified that agriculture is principal, mining is principal.

“We have our own land, our people and the natural rains from our Creator so we can utilise our land,” he said.

The President said the Second Republic has overcome the effects of sanctions even in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic where other nations have been getting funding from multilateral institutions.

“These successes have hinged on agriculture. We identified that agriculture is principal, mining is principal, manufacturing and infrastructure development is critical to the development of the country. We used to put tenders and look for foreigners to develop our roads but we are now doing it on our own, the same with the construction of dams.

‘We used to hire foreign experts but we are now doing it alone.

“This development is there for everyone to see and only those who are anti-development can criticise the works on the ground,” he said.

President Mnangagwa said the Second Republic is determined to turn around the country’s agricultural sector which has also recorded notable successes during the 2020/21 cropping season with the country moving towards self-reliance in terms of food security.

“As such under the Second Republic, we are determined to re orient those in the agriculture sector to perceive and undertake farming as a business.

“On its part, my Government will provide the necessary infrastructure, machinery, tools and equipment to train the youths on various aspects of the agriculture value chain and guide the farm to fork mantra,” he said.