President Nyusi hails Zim agric sector
LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector has demonstrated incredible resiliency in the face of drought brought on by the El Nino phenomenon, Mozambican president, Filipe Nyusi, has said.
He made the remarks while officially opening this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS) in the capital Harare on Tuesday.
“From its humble beginnings as a small gathering of farmers and agriculturalists, the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society and its key event, the Show, have played a pivotal role in shaping Zimbabwe’s agriculture landscape,” President Nyusi said.
Ngoni Kudenga, President of ZAS, stated that despite the insufficient rains, the 2024 exhibit entries were satisfactory.
“The agricultural produce section has exhibitors drawn from all areas of Zimbabwe and with all manner of produce on display.
The tobacco, cotton, and home industries sections remain steady with excellent produce and creations on exhibition. The ever-popular Livestock Section has shown incredible growth with over 140 beef and dairy cattle on show this year compared to less than 87 last year.
This is in addition to sheep, goat, poultry, rabbit, and fish entries and exhibits,” Kudenga said.
According to him, there was 78 224 m2 of show space available, which is 2% more than the 77 000 m2 that existed in 2023.
“This year the demand for exhibition space is very strong, with 564 exhibitors having taken up 78 224 m² of the total available space so far. This represents a significant increase from the previous year when 525 exhibitors occupied 73 000 m² of the available 77 000 m².
“The growth in both the total available space and the number of exhibitors highlights the continued popularity and importance of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show.
To date, 12 foreign participants from India, Brazil, South Africa, Zambia, Pakistan, Eswatini, Japan, Russia, Mozambique, China, Malawi, and Tanzania confirmed their participation compared to five countries in 2023,” Kudenga said.
