US$13,5 Million Poultry Programme for Provinces Set to be Launched

By Joyce Mukucha In quest to revitalise the agriculture sector and provide sustainable livelihoods to vulnerable poor people in various provinces, government is set to initiate a US$13,5 million free range chicken programme under the Livestock Recovery and Growth Programme, a government official has said. In an interview with the state media, the Permanent Secretary…

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Environmental management critical for sustainability of aquaculture, fisheries

The proper management of the environment is critical to ensure the sustainable use of aquaculture and fisheries along the value chain, a top environmentalist has said. Aquaculture is the farming of animals and plants in water. There are various important steps in the aquaculture value chain that includes production, harvesting, processing, marketing, and utilisation. Environmentalist,…

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Government Headache on Pfumvudza

By Elvis Dumba Government will miss its 15 November 2021 deadline target for distributing farming inputs under the Pfumvuza/Intwasa Presidential Input Scheme from the Lands and Agriculture ministry. It has been learnt that government faces a transport headache after transporter’s contracted by government through Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to transport the inputs from GMB depots…

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US$4 Billion Pledge to Support Sustainable Agriculture: Is It Enough?

Forty-five countries including the UK pledged Saturday to protect nature and transition to more sustainable farming. The announcement was made on Nature and Land Use day at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, which the UK is hosting, and comes with a promise to use more than $4 billion in public sector investments to make agriculture more resilient to the climate crisis and make new innovations accessible…

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Aquaculture, fisheries driving the blue economy in Africa

In driving the blue economy, aquaculture and fisheries are playing a key role in ensuring food and nutrition security as well as securing livelihoods and wealth creation on the African continent. Speaking during the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Media Training Workshop organised in partnership with the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)…

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Harnessing the blue economy: Zanzibar women eke a living from seaweed

In Panje, Zanzibar, on the coastline of the resort city, the Furahia Wanawake (Seaweed Farming Women Association) is an organisation of women who are eking a living from seaweed – a low-hanging fruit in the blue economy discourse. According to the Seaweed Farming Women Association Secretary, one Mwanaisha, the project officially came into full force…

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The significance of understanding consumer buying power

By Charles Dhewa One of the most overlooked trends in African agriculture-driven economies is the buying power of local consumers. When the private sector, government departments, and development agencies support agriculture, they rarely think about whether local consumers will afford what will be produced or not. At worst, this oversight leads to over-production, translating to…

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Enhancing Sustainable Fisheries Management and Aquaculture Development in Africa boosts economies

Enhancing sustainable fisheries management and aquaculture development in Africa has the potential of boosting economies on the continent.   This emerged at a media training workshop that kicked off in Zanzibar, Tanzania today under the theme ‘Enhancing Sustainable Fisheries Management and Aquaculture Development in Africa.”   The meeting was made possible by the African Union…

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World Food Price Barometer Surged to a New Peak Reaching its Highest Level Since July 2011′-FAO

By Joyce Mukucha The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has recently announced that the UN barometer of world food prices has surged to a new peak, reaching its highest level since July 2011. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the international prices of a basket of food commodities, is up 3.9 per cent from September, rising for a third consecutive month. According to FAO,…

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TaLI launches young women’s empowerment project in Hurungwe

On Monday, Tag a Life International (TaLI), a girls’ and young women’s rights organisation conducted a groundbreaking ceremony in the Bravo village of Hurungwe. With the view of reducing unpaid care work; gender-based violence; deforestation; and financial illiteracy,Tag a Life International launched the Young Women Empowerment Through Provision of Clean Renewable Energy for Domestic Use…

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Governments urged to Prioritize Integrated Water and Climate Action

By Joyce Mukucha The head of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) together with nine other international organisations have urged nations to urgently step up and take action to address the water-related consequences of climate change. The message was communicated in a correspondence which was issued last week and directed to world leaders ahead of the…

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Spotlighting Zimbabwe’s Vulnerability Assessment Report in the wake of Climate Change Vagaries

By Tendai Guvamombe The validation of the draft Vulnerability Assessment Report (VAR) held at Mazowe Hotel, in Mashonaland Central Province on the 28th September 2021 by various stakeholders is expected to drive the country towards risk reduction in vulnerability, sensitivity, and exposure as part of climate proofing the socio economic infrastructure. The VAR will directly…

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PWDs Plead for Pvumvudza to Become an Inclusive Initiative

By Marlvin Ngiza People with Disabilities(PWDs) have appealed to the government to make concerted efforts in ensuring that the Presidential Climate-Proofed Pfumvudza/Intwasa Scheme become a conducive and accommodating programme which also benefit them. Disability Amalgamation Community Trust (DACT) Executive Director, Henry Chivhanga pointed out that Pfumvudza cannot be able to turnaround PWDs’ livelihoods if it…

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All Set for Summer Cropping Season

By Joyce Mukucha The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa said preparations for the summer cropping season were now at an advanced stage with all inputs for farmers including seed and fertilizer available. She said this during a post Cabinet briefing this Tuesday encouraging farmers to collect seed from SeedCo and K2…

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UNDP Donates ICT Equipment to Ministry of Agriculture

By Joyce Mukucha The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) programme has donated information and communication technology (ICT) equipment valued at USD154, 637 to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development. The equipment which is aimed at supporting the capacity building of the Ministry to rollout…

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The value of agricultural commodities is in their prices on the market

By Charles Dhewa Prices of agricultural commodities in various markets are some of the most under-rated insights in African agriculture. Policy makers are more concerned with the prices of processed products like bread, cooking oil, sugar, margarine, maize meal, and imported products like fuel. There is no interest in tracking prices of daily basics like…

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Piggery artificial insemination station launched in Zimbabwe with support from the EU

By Wallace Mawire The European Union (EU) funded Value Chain Alliance for Livestock Upgrading and Empowerment (VALUE) Artificial Insemination (AI) Station was officially launched by Honourable Vangelis Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development at Braford Farm in Chegutu, Mashonaland West Province on 21 October 2021. The AI station is one…

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Tourism SME Love for Africa positively impacting the community

Love for Africa – a destinations management company specializing in the fully inclusive travel market comprising meetings, incentives, corporate, and events, has gone out of its way to positively impact communities in Victoria Falls and beyond. Blessing Munyenyiwa, the Managing Director at Love for Africa who once worked at Disney World in the United States…

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Passion Poultry Positively Impacting Communities

By Joyce Mukucha Poultry farming has become one of the most important aspects of agriculture in Zimbabwe and beyond. Poultry production is an important and diverse component since eggs and meat are part of health and diet for larger population all over the world. The majority is venturing into this business for making money and…

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Government Dedicated to Supporting Agricultural Productivity

By Joyce Mukucha The government is tirelessly working to enhance agricultural productivity, food, and nutrition security, and sustainable agri-food systems that are inclusive and resilient, a government official has said. In his remarks during the World Food Day (WFD) celebrations last week, the Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Douglas Karoro said the…

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Let’s make Zimbabwe’s land productive: FORUS Party

The Freedom of Rights Under Sovereign (FORUS) Party is proffering ways of making Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector productive so as to boost the economy and ensure the country’s prosperity. Dr. Emmanuel Katsvamutima, an economic advisor for FORUS Party, in an interview with Spiked Online Media said there is a need to strengthen the security of tenure and…

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ZGC Hails Rural Women’s Participation in Food Security and Poverty Reduction

By Joyce Mukucha The Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) says rural women play a key role in global economies which include rural development, food production and poverty eradication. ZGC said this while celebrating the 2021 edition of the International Day of Rural Women on the 15th of October which was running under the theme, “Rural Women…

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ITC Celebrates UN resolution on World Cotton Day

The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee commend the United Nations General Assembly resolution (A/RES/75/318) of officially recognizing 7 October as World Cotton Day. It is a historical moment to acknowledge the importance of cotton as a global commodity as well as its vital role in several countries. Cotton generates income and…

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FinTech Can Help Fill Climate Resilience Gaps In Emerging Markets

The fuel crisis spreading across Europe and Asia highlights the weather-related vulnerabilities faced by global energy systems. As wind and solar falter under intermittency, power generation has defaulted to gas, where demand is being squeezed by early-autumn heating and late-summer electric cooling needs across Eurasia. The reverberations of February’s polar vortex in Texas—which froze gas output—continue to be felt…

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Gene editing helps agriculture adapt to climate change, meet UN Food Systems Summit goals

Gene editing continues to show great promise for developing more resilient and climate-smart crops to counter the mounting threat of climate change and its adverse effects on global food security, new research shows. With its vast potential to alleviate food insecurity and improve the livelihoods of vulnerable populations, gene editing as an agricultural production tool…

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Mashonaland West provincial agricultural show on this week

By Elvis Dumba The 74th edition of the Chinhoyi Agriculture Show Society will roar to life this week. Booking for exhibition space currently stands at 40 percent with more exhibitors still coming to get exhibition places. The Chinhoyi Show Society General Manager Brian Vengai confirmed the development with this publication. Vengai promised an exciting exhibition…

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Behind every quantity of food are units of measurements in African markets

By Charles Dhewa Contrary to western markets like supermarkets where most of the commodities are sold by weight through kilograms, for instance, African mass markets have developed their own best practices in measurement and linking measurements to price or value. To avoid the inconvenience of having to weigh commodities each time someone wants to buy,…

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UN Launches flash appeal as 2.5 million people face severe drought in Kenya

By Joyce Mukucha The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday launched a humanitarian flash appeal for the Kenya drought response as no fewer than 2.5 million people in different communities of the country’ s dry regions categorized as Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) experience food insecurity. The Kenya Drought Flash…

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We are committed to providing adequate energy: Government

The government, through the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, is working towards providing efficient energy generation and/or production, transmission, distribution and utilisation. This was communicated by the Minister of Energy and Power Development, Honourable Soda Zhemu during a recent National Energy Efficiency Policy (NEEP) validation workshop that took place in Harare recently. The Minister…

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Reducing Food Loss and Waste Key to Strengthening Food Sustainability System: FAO

Celebrating the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste this Wednesday, the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) together with other organisations emphasised the need to embrace Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 which seeks to ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns, including a specific target to halve per capita global food waste by 2030. FAO…

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Young farmers hail Agrifoods, Empower Bank partnership for increased food production

By Desire Tshuma Young Farmers are upbeat that the partnership between Agrifoods and Empower Bank is paying huge dividends in maximising food production among the youths so as to contribute to sustainable economic growth. Agrifoods processes all agricultural produce and sells to farmers who are into different types of farming. “We process soybeans, sunflower seeds,…

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DREAMS-funded Greenhouse Project positively impacting youths in Chitungwiza, Goromonzi

Young people have hailed the Freedom of Information Act for giving them free access to information and education especially on the Green House projects that they are partaking in at institutions like the Utano Community Centre in Zengeza, Chitungwiza. The projects are helping in improving their livelihoods and are being supported by the Determined, Resilient, Empowered,…

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Esigodini PFMS Kiosk, College of Agriculture e-learning platform promoting smart agriculture 

The Esigodini Agricultural College e-Learning platform and the Public Finance Management System (PFMS) kiosk launched by Dr. Jenfan Muswere, the Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services at Esigodini township yesterday in Mzingwane District are meant to promote smart agriculture and the advancement of a digital economy. “Online learning platforms and a…

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Community information centres open window for STEM subjects in rural areas

Community information centres provide a window of opportunity for rural-based students to take up science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, Dr. Jenfan Muswere, the Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services has said. He alluded to this fact on 17 September 2021 while launching the Rafingora Community Information Centre at an…

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UNDP donates vehicles to Zimbabwe’s agricultural resilience building project

By Joyce Mukucha The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has handed over five project vehicles to the Ministry of Lands, Agricultural, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement under the Green Climate Fund Building resilience of vulnerable agricultural livelihoods in the Southern Zimbabwe project. Speaking on behalf of her superior during the handover ceremony in Harare on…

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Climate Change predicted to force over 216 million people’s migration within their own countries by 2050

By Joyce Mukucha A new report by the World Bank (WB) has revealed that climate change is an increasingly powerful driver of migration which could force 216 million people across six world regions to move within their countries by 2050. “Climate change is a powerful driver of internal migration because of its impacts on people’s…

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Minister warns youths against land invasions

By Elvis Dumba Local Government and Public Works Deputy Minister Marian Chombo has warned youths from land invasions which have witnessed an increase in Zvimba District and some parts of Mashonaland West Province. Minister Chombo was speaking to Zvimba North ZANU PF leadership during a two-day constituency tour. Minister Chombo said some unscrupulous people were…

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World Vision Improving Disaster Preparedness and Inclusive Education in Zimbabwean Districts

In the quest to address disasters and pandemics that strike and negatively affect the livelihoods of vulnerable groups, especially children and people with disabilities, World Vision in conjunction with Welthungerhilfe, Christian Blind Mission and various Government of Zimbabwe departments has launched a project to strengthen community-led actions on education and disaster preparedness in five districts…

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Improving Food Security Through Capacity Building

Millions of people suffer from food insecurity around the globe. With the help of Earth-observing satellites, the NASA-USAID SERVIR project is hoping to reduce that number. Food security – the consistent availability and affordability of food – is a basic human need, yet it remains elusive for billions of people around the world. The United Nations’…

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