Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Japanese Embassy has constructed an $86,000 training centre and crop warehouse at Binga centre in a move aimed at fighting food insecurity and linking local farmers to international markets.
The embassy, in partnership with a local non-governmental organisation, Kaite Trust, handed over the training centre and crop warehouse to the Binga community last week.
Agriculture training workshops will be conducted at the training school which will also act as a meeting place for small scale farmers.
Hibiscus tea, a medicinal product which Binga farmers are growing, will be the first to be stored at the crop warehouse.
With the storage facility, farmers will be able to link with world markets, Japanese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Yoshi Hiraishi said.
“Before this project was started, lack of proper storage facilities caused the loss of around 15 percent of the total harvest every year.
Even if farmers have been practising organic farming, they faced challenges in maintaining the quality of the crop due to lack of storage,” he said.
“This is meant to enhance livelihoods and sustainability.
I hope we will help each other maintain this place so that it uplifts our lives.”
In a speech read on his behalf by an official from his office, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made said the Japanese Embassy had shown that it was dedicated to improving rural communities in Zimbabwe.
“Kaite Trust and the Japanese Embassy have done a splendid job of linking local small scale producers to reliable international markets.
The feat of improving livelihoods can’t be realised by the government alone but requires concerted efforts by us all,” said the Minister.
A representative from Kaite Trust said the crop warehouse and training centre would enhance interaction between farmers and bring income to Binga, thereby improving lives.