Chinese Team Interested in Supporting Tobacco Farming

Source from:  The Herald 06/08/2009

A DELEGATION sent by the Chinese Export and Import bank, through the Chinese government has expressed interest in supporting tobacco farming on about 20 000 hectares in Mashonaland Central. The delegation, which composed Mr Wei Xinyuan, Mr Wu Xion Wen, Mr You Heping and Mr Steven Li revealed this after paying a courtesy call at the Mashonaland Central Governor and Resident Minister's offices here. The delegation then toured some of the tobacco farms in Mashonaland Central and the tours are expected to end today. Mashonaland Central Governor Advocate Martin Dinha said the idea was welcome there implementation would require a major policy formulation from the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant stakeholders before they could start meaningful progress. In his response Adv Dinha said the province was excited with the proposal which comes barely a few weeks after the Chinese Ambassador invited to identify a Chinese province for twinning. "The Chinese people are our all weather friends. We have farmers here keen to see the success of the land reform programme. "Our area of need is farm mechanisation, inputs support and supply," he said. He said the province wished to zero in on tobacco production so that the country would be able to generate foreign currency. "I am prepared to support such endeavors that are aimed at uplifting the welfare of our farmers and their prospects," Adv Dinha revealed. Enditem