The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) restrategises to guarantee food security in Zimbabwe

Source: Arda restrategises to guarantee food security | Sunday Mail (Business) Golden Sibanda THE Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) says it is repositioning itself as a vehicle for food, feed, fibre and biofuels security in Zimbabwe in line with its new mandate. Chief executive officer Mr Tinotenda Mhiko said after years of low production at its estates, ARDA was emerging from its slumber. “The first step that we did was to restructure,” he said. The State-owned enterprise falls under the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement and is responsible for advancing agricultural production and rural development. Its current portfolio includes 21 estates with a total of 98 000 hectares of arable land, of which 19,4 percent is irrigable. Part of the new strategy, which is premised on helping the country become an upper middle-income economy by 2030, involves full utilisation of vast tracts of land both at its estates and irrigation schemes ...