Business Reporter
STAKEHOLDERS in the food sector want the Zimbabwe Food Conference and Expo set for July 8 to interrogate agricultural productivity and financing which they say are the reasons why the country has become a net importer.

Stakeholders who attended the breakfast launch of the Zimbabwe Food Conference and Expo (ZFCE) said the country should focus more on finding strategies to improve productivity and financing of agriculture.

At its peak, Zimbabwe produced nearly three million metric tonnes of maize in the mid-80s to early 90s but currently production is below one million metric tonnes.

“(About) 175 000 tonnes of soyabeans was grown in 2001 but output has dropped by over 75 percent to around 40 000 tonnes if not less. Another example is in annual milk production which fell from around 187 million litres in 2000 to less than 50 million litres,” said ZFCE chief executive officer Mr Alois Burutsa.

Value Chain
“For the ZFCE the question is how do we push the figures up? How can dialogue and interaction enhance the value chain issues that we face, so that we can produce sufficient food crops to feed ourselves and export in a sustainable manner both financially and environmentally for the benefit of all Zimbabweans?”

The July conference is divided into three thematic issues – the economic status of food manufacturing; social and policy issues and science of food.

Conference co-moderator Dr Lenneiye Mungai said food security and nutrition are essential dimensions of sustainable development.

“However, the challenge is immense: one in eight people in the world today — 868 million — are undernourished and approximately two billion suffer from micro-nutrient deficiencies,” said Dr Mungai.

He said the adoption of a multi-currency regime stabilised the economy, but without increased local production, the economy has lost regional and global competitiveness.

“Zimbabwe has become a major importer of goods, including foods, and this has contributed to the downward trend in local production; and likely to persist until competitiveness is restored,” he said.

Some of the goals of the ZFCE include to better understand the status, prospects, and challenges in the area of national and household food and nutrition security.

To harness existing scientific knowledge to better inform economic and socio-political policy dimensions; to lay a foundation for fostering dialogue around solutions that will strengthen strategies in the Zim-Asset Food and Nutrition Cluster and to outline issues to inform post-workshop dialogue with all stakeholders (communities, Government, NGOs, donors).