By Ziyah News Chief Reporter
Harare- Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has underlined the importance of research in improving Zimbabwe’s agricultural landscape from enhancing productivity to ameliorating diseases affecting both crops and animals.
He was speaking at the inaugural Research for Agricultural Excellence indaba jointly organised the Zimbabwe Research Council (ZRC) and the Zimbabwe Agriculture Society (ZAS) in Harare.
The VP challenged players in the agriculture research field to work tirelessly and provide solutions and research that can positively shape the country’s farming sector.
”I challenge you all to transform the agricultural landscape, through harnessing the power of research that delves deep into the complexities of our farming systems. Therefore, there is need for research that provide solutions to our production and productivity challenges, animal diseases as well as increased revenue generation through import substitution. It is my conviction that all we need is pragmatic research that informs the policies and programs that will shape the future of this agriculture sector,” he said.
Vice President Chiwenga also said, “there are critical issues in our agriculture sector which need to be led and driven by scientific research. Government is geared to climate proof agriculture in a bid to ensure food and nutrition security’”
He hailed the organisers of the indaba for coming up with a platform whose agenda dovetails into the agriculture policy being pursued by Government.
“Let me applaud the Research Council of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society for having recognized the urgent need to bridge the gap and catalyse the synergies between research and sustainable agricultural practices.”
The inaugural Research for Agriculture Excellence indaba is running under the theme, “Research and Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Agri-business Development” which the VP said rings true to aspirations of a prosperous and food-secure future for Zimbabwe.