Elton Mangwo
Engagement and re-engagement policies continue to bear fruit, with the European Union urging Zimbabwe to export more fresh food to the bloc.

The EU delegation, headed by EU Ambassador Jobust von Kirchaman, spoke yesterday at the launch of the “Team Europe Initiative on Greener and Climate-smart Agriculture”, praising Zimbabwe’s farmers for fresh produce they can cover. Demand is growing in Europe, he said.

The launch comes after coordination at the political level to ensure Zimbabwe and her EU achieve maximumsustainable impact and transformation in line with the country’s strategic priorities.

“We hope to see more fresh food exports to the EU as farmers switch to market and value basedagricultural production.

“We have been working with farmers in the Chipinge district to promote the certification of organicproducts and build export capacity,” said Ambassador von Kirchaman. Such development is taking placeas the government accelerates efforts to transform small farms into production centers for export goods inorder to achieve middle-income economies and accelerate rural development.

Minister for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Worried Mr Maska said Europeanmarkets are becoming more profitable for local smallholder farmers as countries look to lift their exportbills through a range of government-led export strategies. He said it would provide opportunities thatcould be used to increase

The ministry is developing a robust market system that considers export and domestic consumptiondirectives.

Recently, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Develop and activate horticulture-relatedinfrastructure, including agricultural processing, in order to establish sustainable and effective financingmechanisms and attract foreign investment in horticultural production It is planned.

Through legislative changes, the government is working to ensure that a sustainable businessenvironment is created for farmers to sell their produce and make a profit. The Team Europe initiative ongreener and climate-friendly farming also supports young people and farmers through agribusinesssupport services.

The initiative, with the participation of all member states and Switzerland, will contribute over 207 millionwon to support the government’s strategy for a more productive, resilient and greener agricultural sector.

A new cooperation between Zimbabwe and her EU allows all partners to share their visions and prioritiesand understand each other.

It meets every three months to ensure that the initiative is fully aligned with the National DevelopmentStrategy (NDS 1).