TINASHE MAKICHI
Tinotenda Mhiko says taking over the reins as CEO of the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) is a “huge responsibility” which he does not take lightly.
He is determined to carry and deliver in terms of the “expectations or even better” as he preaches the transformation of the sector to a digital and technology driven agriculture which is the key lever to eradicate famine, poverty and to drive socio-economic development.
“I have a strong conviction that it can be done especially with support from all the stakeholders,” he told Business Times.
Mhiko was last month appointed as ARDA’s substantive CEO. He has been the acting CEO of the parastatal since December.
Raised by parents with a strong farming background, Mhiko said he developed a passion for farming at a tender age which played a key role in educational qualifications and a career path he chose.
This foundation has given him the edge.
The executive is brimming with confidence saying he has the aptitude to take ARDA to the Promised Land.
“…I do have local, regional and international experience in agricultural production, research and extension, rural development, agri value chain management, processing, consultancy, regulation and deployment of the 4th industrial revolution projects in agriculture, where I worked with all sectors of farmers from smallholder to large scale commercial farmers,” Mhiko said.
“I have published AgriTech and scientific research papers in peer reviewed international journals. I have a strong passion for value addition and technology driven agriculture.”
He has been involved in the whole agriculture value chain—from the farm to the fork—having worked for Cairns, Cassava Smartech up to his latest appointment.
Mhiko said ARDA has hit the ground running and the current farming season has been so “phenomenal in terms of the generous rains we have received”.
“We have had to embrace and deploy strategies to achieve quick win solutions through the use of smart agricultural practices to not only boost agricultural output, but to do so in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. We have also started working on rural irrigation schemes and community development projects and our main focus is ensuring scheme business viability and sustainability to empower rural farmers in pursuit of Vision 2030,” the agriculture technocrat said.
Mhiko said ARDA was revitalising the Smallholder Dairy Development Programme and Exports with the support of Agricultural Marketing Authority and other government departments.
In the medium term, ARDA would deploy transformative agricultural digital solutions and technologies to both ARDA Estates and Rural Irrigation Schemes to improve efficiencies and hence increasing profitability for both the Estates and for rural farmers, the executive said.
“When all is said and done, the objective is to transform and place ARDA as the guarantor of national food, feed and fibre security as underpinned the Vision 2030 as well as the NDS1 blueprints. Considering the land resource ARDA has, there is no reason why the institution should not take its rightful place as an important pillar in the scheme of the national economy. So the long term objective is to build and nurture ARDA’s brand equity,” Mhiko said.
ARDA has, in the past, been a theatre of corporate governance deficits: the bane of the bulk of parastatals and state owned entities.
Mhiko said ARDA was reviewing controls and putting systems in place including digital transformation to address mismanagement and to improve operational efficiencies.
The Authority is also training management and support staff with the assistance of the Corporate Governance Unit to try and address corporate governance issues, the executive said.
“We have also put a new structure in place and recruitment of competent staff has commenced to allow for execution of our mandate,” Mhiko said.
“We want to develop our organisation’s brand equity, first and foremost, to make it a centre of excellence, to lead by farming and to spearhead rural development to empower the rural communities, of course mindful that the wheel is not being reinvented. We have to leverage on the right agricultural practices and technology, harness and retain the best human resource available to us.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted economies globally. Notwithstanding the disruptions, Mhiko is convinced the agric parastatal would be revived. He said the impact of the pandemic may not be as severe to Zimbabwe, as much as it has been to other nations due to the “visionary leadership” in the country.
“People are getting vaccinated across the country and we are therefore poised for a rebound. All the ingredients for our revival are there,” Mhiko said when asked about ARDA’s revival in the wake of Covid-19.
The executive said the task ahead was huge such that he had set aside hobbies as there is “little time to consider those other hobbies”. When the time allows, he would play golf and fishing, Mhiko said.
He enjoys reading, for leisure apart from academic purposes.
“I read the Bible first and foremost, which is my watchword,” said the executive who is inspired by one word: possibility.
Mhiko is pursuing a PhD majoring in Agrifoods Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, holds degrees in post-harvest technology, agronomy and data analytics and diplomas in leadership and management, project management and mobile application development.
He boasts of 36 International Certifications in Business Leadership, Agricultural Digital Solutions and Technology.
Other than sitting on the ARDA board by virtue of being CEO, Mhiko also sits in the boards of Zimbabwe Agro Industrial Development Agency, Best Food Processors [a division of Schweppes) and ARDA Seeds.
“The main focus right now is to achieve our set objectives and deliver on our mandate as given by the Honourable Minister and through the Board. We will take everything else in our stride as we forge ahead,” the executive said, when asked which personal project he is involved in.
