Zimbabwe: 15 000 Tobacco Farmers and Miners to Benefit From U.S.$

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) November 22, 2006 11/24/2006

NEARLY 15 000 tobacco farmers and small-scale miners are set to benefit from United Nations Industrial Development Organisation US$4 million project portfolio. The portfolio includes pilot projects to assist small-scale gold miners to access better technologies that protect the environment from pollution. This will entail replacing the use of mercury in mining and methyl bromide in maize storage. These chemicals are harmful to the environment and will be replaced by more environment friendly technologies. Tobacco farmers, both small and large scale, will shift from their traditional ways of growing tobacco seedlings and access new alternative technology known as the floating tray technology, which uses less chemicals. Unido Southern Africa head Mr Stefano Bologna said the tobacco farmers would undergo training on how to use the floating tray technology. "The key result of this programme is that tobacco farmers will shift from the tradition methods to something that will improve their income and enhance the competitiveness of Zimbabwean tobacco thus enabling the country to earn more foreign currency. "This method also protects the environment," he said. Mr Bologna added the project would enable Zimbabwe to meet its international obligations under the Montreal Protocol which calls on nations to phase out the use of methyl bromide by 2015. He said the organisation was also committed to working with Zimbabwe in its efforts to expand its regional and international exports as a sustainable and profitable development strategy. "Unido is ready to assist Government and key stakeholders to push the industrial development agenda as an effective tool in reducing poverty," said Mr Bologna. Other possible areas of collaboration between Unido and Zimbabwe include strengthening capacity of the pharmaceutical sector produce anti-retroviral, TB and malaria-related drugs for both the local and regional markets. Enditem