President Emmerson Mnangagwa has today launched a 13 million Seed Co, seed maize conditioning plant at Staple Ford in Mount Hapden.
The commissioning of the Dryer plant follows other multiple projects which was launched by the Zanu Pf first secretary which consists of the commissioning of the Chinhoyi One Stop Court Complex last week as well as Palmline Investments Dairy and Beef Projects in Ngezi a fortnight ago.
The Seed Co Dryer plant which was commissioned by the President was funded by the French financing company, Proparco which is a subsidiary of Agence Francaise de Developpement {AFD}.
Speaking at the official launch of the Dryer Plant, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the maize seed processing plant was going to transform the agricultural sector in diverse areas.
“As we gear towards a prosperous, diverse, sustainable and competitive agriculture sector, this seed Maize Conditioning Plant will contribute towards quick turnaround of production and productivity, especially in the seed sub-sector. The modern and multi-purpose Plant reduces drying time for seed maize, enables early harvesting and payment to growers as well as grower traceability. It also opens up land for double cropping thereby ensuring increased crop range for our farmers,” said Mnangagwa.
Furthermore, Mnangagwa urged other stakeholders to join hands in developing the agricultural sector insisting that the government was going to continue supporting agriculture in various developmental programmes.
“I challenge other companies to take a leaf from such practical initiatives and play their part in growing mordenising and diversifying the agriculture sector along with other sectors of our economy.
“On our part as government we will continue to support and modernize agriculture through multi-prolonged interventions which include the provision of irrigation infrastructure, extension services, the Presidential Climate Proofed Pfumvudza\ Intwasa Programme, the CBZ Agro-Yield Programme as well as the Livestock Growth Plan among others,” he said.
Meanwhile, French Ambassador to Zimbabwe, His Excellence Laurent Chevallier who was representing France on the launch added that they were going to continue supporting Zimbabwe in different projects.
” France and Zimbabwe have similar histories especially the land and industrial reforms, hence we therefore pledge to support Zimbabwe and its people,” he said.
Moreso, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water And Rural Resettlement, Dr Anxious Masuka said the seed maize conditioning plant was going to see different agricultural projects, being conducted in an easy manner.
“From what we know of this Seed Maize Conditioning Plant, seed maize will be getting to our farmers quickly. We are going to see land utilization increasing. Crop rotation will be made easier and timeously,” said Dr Masuka.
Seed Co Limited is a holding company and is engaged in producing and marketing certified crop seeds in Southern Africa. The Company has two segments: regional and Zimbabwe. The regional segment operates in countries outside Zimbabwe and within Africa, such as Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Rwanda. The Zimbabwe segment is made up of Seed Co Zimbabwe (Private) Limited and Niculata Investments (Private Limited).
