Last week the United Kingdom, under its Trade Partnerships (UKTP) program, moved to equip horticultural farmers with digital tools to bolster their capacity to export. The horticulture sector has recently been a major focus for both financial and technical capacitation in Zimbabwe, where the government has placed agriculture among sectors to drive economic recovery.
Last month, the government launched a US$30 million horticulture facility to boost exports. The Horticulture Export Revolving Fund would be funded through the US$1 billion special drawing rights facility released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year. The facility was part of a US$650 billion injection released by the IMF to help economies recover from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Last week’s program was also meant to give farmers critical information for exports to the UK and European Union markets. A total of 27 lead firms and smallholder farmers took place in the program, which saw farmers being acquainted with a new traceability software and application.
The training was conducted by a German company, SAP SE Rural Sourcing Management, which produces software solutions for facilitating effective data processing and information flow across organizations.
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