Fruit tree farming the game-changer: Shiri
Lazarus Sauti
Air Force of Zimbabwe
Commander Air Marshal Perrance Shiri has called on the nation to embark on a
major tree planting exercise to reduce the country’s fresh fruit import bill.
Speaking at a tree planting
event at AFZ Headquarters in Harare yesterday, Air Marshal Shiri said the
excess of fresh fruit imports from South Africa was not ideal for a country
undergoing an agrarian revolution.
He said: “We want to
play our part in ensuring our country has a mini-fruit revolution. We want to
set up a planting exercise that will cascade to all our bases, the surrounding
communities and most importantly our farmers throughout Zimbabwe.”
The AFZ Commander also
added that such fruit tree planting exercise would save Zimbabwe millions of
dollars annually.
“Fruit tree farming
will not only save us on foreign currency but it will also create much-needed
employment for our people. Employment in our forestry sector currently stands
at over 7 000 jobs. In essence, the commercialisation of fruit trees and
non-fruit trees is in-sync with Government’s thrust for a thriving
agro-forestry sector,” he said.
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