A concerted approach involving enhanced access to cheap finance, guaranteed land tenure, consistent policy, regulatory environment and skills training for farmers are some requirements to reach the target, Horticultural Development Council (HDC) chief executive Linda Nielsen said at an investment forum.
She said that the industry requires 1.2 billion U.S. dollars for financing and that providing incentives would reassure investors and funders.
Before the land reform program, horticulture was a key foreign currency earner for Zimbabwe. Due to disturbances during the program, horticulture production and export earnings plummeted.
Last year, the government began efforts to revive the sector, and launched an export-revolving fund worth 30 million dollars as a de-risking mechanism for private funding to the sector.
The sector received a significant boost after Zimbabwe and China signed a citrus trade protocol last year to export citrus to China.
The country subsequently made its first citrus shipment to China in August this year, with further negotiations ongoing between the two countries on the export of avocados and pecans, according to the HDC.
Latest comments