THE Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy launched by President Mnangagwa on Wednesday is set to be a launch pad to a US$8,2 billion agriculture economy by 2025.

Launching the strategy during the 8th annual agribusiness conference at Exhibition Park in Harare, President Mnangagwa said the Government’s economic policies were aimed at industrialisation, modernisation and creating a sustainable investment environment in society.

The strategy outlines specific key projects that include provision of inputs to both vulnerable and smallholder farmers, fostering market links, climate proofing all agriculture support programmes, implementation of market-based programmes which bring in the private sector and improve competitiveness of agriculture commodities on local and export markets.

The Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy is similar to another strategy targeting to turn the mining sector into a US$12 billion industry.

The mining target has seen the country implementing several synergised projects that harmonise coal and coke production, gas and electricity generation, which are key enablers for critical industrial processes.

President Mnangagwa recently toured Hwange power projects which will see the country generating in excess of 3 000MW of electricity in the next few years.

The energy investments will help the country cut millions of dollars spent on power imports, create a favourable climate for increased investment across sectors, and increase exports.

Investors include Western Coal and Energy Company (600MW), Zambezi Gas (750MW), ZZEE (450MW) and Jinan/Tutu (600MW). These are in addition to the 600MW Hwange Thermal Power Station units 7 and 8, which is being implemented at a cost of over US$1 billion.

The US$5 billion National Tourism Strategy will seek to provide increased funding to Covid-19-hit tourism businesses, including small to medium players within the tourism value chain through a Tourism Revolving Fund.

While launching the strategy early this month, the President also officially re-opened the Victoria Falls Rainforest which had been closed as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.

Together, the three strategies will see Zimbabwe attaining a US$25 billion economy by 2025.

And this is not only achievable, but within sight.

Government’s Vision 2030 of becoming an upper middle-income economy is set to be a major success story in the second Republic.

Once the breadbasket of Africa, the country is now poised to write a dramatic story of the fall to a basket case and then the rise, yet again, to a breadbasket.

Zimbabwe may be named after ruins, but is not in ruin.

Slowly, rock by rock, President Mnangagwa and his administration are rebuilding the “house of stone”.

The confidence that was bestowed on the President and his party by the electorate on July 30, 2018 is now paying off.

As expected, not everyone is happy. But that should not stop progress, development.

Those who want to wrestle political power must do so through the ballot box. Not through violence, keyboard wars, lies and sanctions.

Fake abductions in particular must be straining and time consuming. Meanwhile, the Government that is being demonised is ever moving forward and gaining more political ground.

As the saying goes: Those who throw dirt lose ground.