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Business Reporter
AGRICON Equipment, one of the country’s leading assemblers and suppliers of high tech agriculture equipment and implements says local farmers should embrace mechanisation to enhance efficiency and maximise yields and incomes from the farms.

Agricon is the official agent of CASE, the world’s leading manufacturer of agriculture and construction equipment, KUHN farm implements supplier and SANY of China.

In an interview, Agricon chief executive Mr Faijul Materia said initiatives being taken by the Government such as Command Agriculture need to be complemented by ensuring that farms are properly mechanised.

Since its inception four years ago, the firm has raised competition in the market and this had resulted in a significant drop in machinery prices. Some of its machinery is assembled locally while some of the equipment is imported as complete units. Agricon now enjoys 33 percent of the market share.

“Agriculture, being historically the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy, is a very important segment of our economy. It is the only sector that will anchor revitalisation of the economy. It is for this reason why we have taken a keen interest in showing the nation what the benefits of mechanisation are in Zimbabwe,” said Mr Materia.

“Mechanisation increases efficiency; increases yields and gives us optimum use of our land.

“Land is our biggest resource. It is a resource that benefits every single person in this country.

“Our drive as Agricon is to use newly available technology to boost agriculture. Zimbabwe has the potential of being a global player in agriculture. We have high rate of unemployment and agriculture can solve this problem,” he added.

Zimbabwe’s agriculture dominates the economy and through its various establishments, the sector is one of the major employers in the country. It is at the centre of the matrix of the economy by virtue of its central location within the value chain.

“Food becomes cheaper; industrial input becomes cheaper because the bulk of our industrial input comes from agriculture,” said Mr Materia adding that his company has helped farmers with packages to make acquisition of equipment more affordable.

“In terms of assisting farmers, we have partnered banks and financial institutions. We have also offered packages, which make our products affordable. So the facilities enable farmers to pay less than what they normally pay under normal schemes. We are working with a few financial institutions to make this happen,” said Mr Materia.

This month, the company will hold a demo harvesting in Chinhoyi where it will also showcase some of its equipment.

The company has invited customers and farmers across the country.