The President of the Republic of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, has praised Zimbabwe’s Agricultural industry for its perseverance throughout El Nino’s drought.
The 114th Zimbabwe Agricultural Show officially opened today, and President Nyusi gave the speech. Honorable General Dr. Constantino Chiwenga and Retired Colonel Kembo Mohadi, the two deputies to the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, graced the occasion.
Among the other notable personalities present were Senator Charles Tawengwa, the Minister of State for the Harare Metropolitan Province, and Dr. Anxious Masuka, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate, and Rural Development.
President Nyusi praised the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society for persevering since 1895 in the face of difficulties, like as the drought brought on by El Nino.
President Nyusi stated, “The Zimbabwe Agricultural Society and its major event, the Show, have played a pivotal role in shaping Zimbabwe’s agriculture landscape from its humble beginnings as a small gathering of farmers and agriculturalists.”
Presisent Emmerson Mnangagwa and First Lady at ZAS. Photocredit- Tsitsi Betha
The agricultural sector is committed to promoting growth, sustainability, and change, as embodied by the 2024 Agricultural Show’s theme, “Cultivating Prosperity, Growing Business, Innovating for Change, Nurturing the Future.”
The ZAS President, Mr. Ngoni Kudenga, stated in his speech that the 2024 Show entries are still excellent in spite of the extreme drought that has been endured.
“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,” Mr. Kudenga said.
For this year the available exhibit space is 78 224 m², a 2% increase from 77 000 m² that was there 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.
Compared to five nations in 2023, 12 foreign participants—from Brazil, India, South Africa, Zambia, Pakistan, Eswatini, Japan, Russia, Mozambique, China, Malawi, and Tanzania—have so far confirmed their participation.
Under the theme “Cultivating Prosperity, Sowing Solutions for Livestock Sustainability,” the 12th Annual National Agribusiness Conference (ANAC), co-hosted by the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) and the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society, will take place on Wednesday, or tomorrow.
The conference’s main focus is Zimbabwe’s livestock industry, with the aim of obtaining Brection indicators that point to sustainable livestock production, welfare, and health.
The Environmental, Social, and Governance Conference (previously the Agriculture and Mining Interface) and the Diplomatic Network Business Conference are scheduled for this Thursday. The Research for Agricultural Excellence Indaba is also scheduled for Thursday.
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President Nyusi and President Mnangagwa at the Seed-co stand at the ZAS. Photocredit- Tsitsi Betha