eBusiness Weekly
Michael Tome
HARARE – Massive agriculture mechanisation remains a key enabler for the country to realise a competitive and successful agricultural sector.
Efforts to increase the number of working tractors, combine harvester and irrigation systems are currently underway across the country.
Only 18 percent of the national required tractors is functional whilst less than 10 percent (50) of harvesters is functional against a national requirement of 500.
Launching Amtec Motors farm equipment division Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement deputy minister Vangelis Haritatos said the country still needs to buckle up if it is to meet tractors and combine harvesters’ requirements.
“Currently there are 7000 functional tractors and 3000 nonfunctional against a national requirement of 40 000 tractors, combined harvest requirement is 500 and only 50 are functioning 165 are non-functional,” said Haritatos.
Agriculture is the mainstay of Zimbabwe’s economy hence requires dedicated effort to be restored to its former levels as the breadbasket of Africa.
Deputy Minister Haritatos highlighted that the sector is a critical component to Zimbabwe as it produces the bulk of the raw materials required by the local industry hence contributing significantly to employment creation along the value chain and Gross Domestic Product.
“60 percent of raw materials in industry come from agriculture, the sector contributes 40 percent of the country’s total exports while contributing 12,5- 17 percent of the country’s GDP,” he said.
Mechanisation increases labour efficiency and enhances farm productivity per worker. By its nature it reduces the quantum of labour needed to produce a unit of output and as such , Amtec Motors is now selling tractors and an assortment of agro equipment comprising of boom sprayers, hydraulic offsets, rippers, and ridgers, mechanical and pneumatic planters through the franchise arrangement between Tafe and AgriMag.
According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) mechanisation mean that more tasks can be completed at the right time and greater areas can be farmed to produce greater quantities of crops while conserving natural resources.
