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His Excellency Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, the President of the Republic of Mozambique has hailed the resilience of Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector amidst the El-Nino-induced drought.
President Nyusi made the remarks today while officially opening the 114th Edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show. The event was graced by His Excellency Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe who was accompanied by his two deputies, Hon Retired General, Dr Constantino Chiwenga; and Retired Colonel Kembo Mohadi.
Other key dignitaries included Dr. Anxious Masuka, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate, and Rural Development; and Senator Charles Tawengwa, the Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province.
President Nyusi hailed the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society for holding fort since 1895 despite challenges including the El-Nino-induced drought.
“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.
The theme for the 2024 Agricultural Show “Cultivating Prosperity, Growing Business, Innovating for Change, Nurturing the Future” encapsulates a commitment to driving growth, sustainability, and transformation of Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector.
In his address, Mr. Ngoni Kudenga, the ZAS President said despite the severe drought experienced, the 2024 Show entries remain as good as ever.
“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.
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.