LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Zimbabwe’s first digital crop, livestock and fisheries assessment begins tomorrow with enumerators from the private sector using tablets for data collection.
The exercise runs up to January 30.
“Modern technology such as the geographical information systems, open data kitty and remote sensing from Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency tapping from the recently launched Zim Sat 1 will be used,” permanent secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, John Basera said.
He added: “Enumerators will be empowered with tablets for use during the data collection and this will allow information to be sent in real-time to the electronic server and analysis and analytics will take place.
The scientific and industrial research development centre and other government partners will also be used and tapped into.
The team will also do data analysis and analytics and report writing then present the report to principals within the ministry.”
Basera said the assessment aims to assess and verify the areas planted for different crops, crop growth stages and the general condition in the season.
He said the exercise will also assess and verify the availability, accessibility and utilisation of livestock and inputs by farmers and farmer category.
The team will also look into the impacts and effects of the weather and climate change.
“We will also assess and verify the grazing availability and quality and water availability across the country,” Basera said.
He appealed to all farmers and stakeholders to cooperate with the enumerators as they conduct data collection business.
“Data from several stakeholders regarding the programme beneficiaries is critical in informing our critical progress and will gauge private sector participation.
“One of the cross-cutting imperatives in NDS1, NDS2 and ultimately Vision 2030 is to crowd in the participation of the private sector.
“We would want to put a barometer so that we measure and gauge private sector participation and their contribution as well. As such information from the private sector is very critical,” Basera said.
The assessment exercise will also assess fisheries and other nutritional programmes as being rolled out by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
It is understood that local agricultural extension officers are the principal enumerators who will collect data from randomly selected farms in every ward of the 1600 rural wards.
The report will be tabled before the Cabinet committee on food security and nutrition chaired by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga for their approval before the report is put in the public domain.
