The Sunday Mail
Bulawayo Bureau
Smallholder farmers should shift from subsistence to practising farming as a business, while indigenous knowledge systems should be harnessed to increase the production of quality traditional grains and resilient poultry and livestock on a commercial scale, President Mnangagwa has said.
Speaking at the launch of the Dryland Agro Innovation and Industrial Park at Lupane State University (LSU) yesterday, the President said the Government will continue giving priority to an education system driven by science, technology and innovation.
The Dryland Agro Innovation and Industrial Park is expected to drive innovation in semi-arid agriculture, wildlife management, forestry and rural development, while also promoting knowledge- and technology-driven industries.
“Through the university’s partnership with surrounding communities, the mind-set of smallholder farmers should now shift from subsistence to practising farming as a business.
“The importance of an agriculture ecosystem which is anchored on knowledge, technology and innovation cannot be overemphasised,” said President Mnangagwa.
“In addition, the adoption of the requisite agronomic and animal husbandry practices remains critical for a competitive and viable agriculture sector.
“This has been given urgency by the negative impact of climate change. As such, research outcomes from this Dryland Innovation Hub and Agro Industrial Park must help improve plant and livestock genetics as well as other variables towards our quest to increase national food and nutrition security.”
The innovation hub and industrial park, the President added, will enhance Lupane State University’s mandate of boosting semi-arid agriculture, wildlife management, forestry and rural development, among other aspects.
“The facility should also spur knowledge- and technology-driven industries for the benefit of local communities and growth of the provincial economy here in Matabeleland. To this end, the Dryland Agro Innovation and Industrial Park must capacitate our smallholder and communal famers with the relevant skills and agronomic knowledge. Our rich indigenous knowledge systems must equally be harnessed to increase the efficient production of quality traditional grains as well as resilient poultry and livestock at a commercial scale,” he said.
President Mnangagwa also said the park should become the nerve centre of commerce and innovation in the province, leveraging on Matabeleland North’s considerable natural resources to spur development.
“In the context of the development philosophy of ‘leaving no one and no place behind’, the Lupane State University Dryland Agro Innovation Hub and Industrial Park should complement efforts towards the implementation of the devolution and decentralisation agenda. This must provide knowledge-based solutions to emerging societal concerns, priorities and aspirations as envisioned in local development planning processes at village, ward, district and provincial level.”
He exhorted the university to give due attention to the development of innovative solutions in water and forestry resources management, as well as strategies to address human-wildlife conflict.
“These should enhance climate change risk reduction, building resilience and adaptability among our communities. Following the rapid increase of cases of human-wildlife conflict, my Government recently approved the establishment of the Human-Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund to cushion and address the challenges faced by victims of this emerging challenge,” he said.
In order to accelerate the growth and expand the impact of the innovation hub and industrial park, the university was encouraged to increase collaboration with Government ministries, departments and agencies.
LSU was also encouraged to focus on developing start-ups and registering patents in future.
The institution is one of the beneficiaries of the Government’s $7,2 billion funding for local universities’ innovation hubs and infrastructural development.
It is mandated to conduct research on the Dryland Agro Innovation and Industrialisation Programme with the aim of solving agriculture-related challenges in arid regions of Matabeleland and other parts of the country.
The park is expected to industrialise agriculture in the province and is already producing various breeds of pigs, goats and chickens on a large scale.
Meanwhile, the President capped 1 628 students from LSU.
Of the students that graduated, 951 were female.
A total of 808 of the students from three faculties obtained post-graduate degrees and diplomas, while 752 of the graduates received under-graduate degrees, with 43 of those in the first-class.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, LSU Vice Chancellor Professor Pardon Kuipa said the education spearheaded by the Second Republic was producing students that are capable of industrialising the country’s economy with their entrepreneurial skills.
“We congratulate you, Your Excellency and Chancellor, for initiating and having the foresight that through Education 5.0, the country would create entrepreneurs who are capable of creating jobs and accord Zimbabwe a realistic chance to leapfrog into an upper middle-income economy by 2030,” he said.
“Education 5.0 is a winning formula for the provision of adequately skilled human resources that are empowered to industrialise the economy.”
