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Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa

Kuda Bwititi in SOLIGORSKI, Belarus
There will be relief for farmers this summer cropping season as the shortage of fertiliser is set to ease following negotiations between the Government of Zimbabwe and a Belarusian firm, Beraluskali, for the supply of the key farming input.

Financing of the deal will be done under the auspices of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich, for an initial $150 million in Minsk, the Belarusian capital on Monday.

VP Mnangagwa on Tuesday toured a Beraluskali manufacturing plant, where he said Zimbabwe’s farmers stood to benefit from the fertiliser deal.

“We have an agreement that we have signed for an initial $150 million and from this fund, part of it will go towards purchasing fertiliser, he said. This will go a long way in alleviating fertiliser shortages in our country.”

VP Mnangagwa commended the operations at the company, one of the leading suppliers of fertiliser in the world with a production capacity of more 12,5 million tonnes of potassium annually.

The firm has markets in over 70 countries.

“I have been amazed by the enormous nature of the operations here and I have never seen such expertise, said VP Mnangagwa. We are going to take such lessons so that we improve our own agricultural sector.”

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Dr Joseph Made said experts from his ministry were engaging officials from Beraluskali to tie up loose ends to the fertiliser deal to ensure it was finalised ahead of the summer cropping season this year.

“We are now at a stage where officials from my ministry are working with staff from the company (Beraluskali) to conduct soil analysis to see which fertiliser is best for Zimbabwe,” he said.

Zimbabwe has important lessons to learn from Belarus, which has anchored its economic activity on high levels of productivity in the agricultural sector.

This is further bolstered by the country’s highly mechanised infrastructure, which enables its farmers to maximise on land usage to ensure uppermost production.

Belarusian companies are also set to provide tractors, irrigation equipment and other farm implements to enhance Zimbabwe’s agriculture mechanisation drive.

Meanwhile, VP Mnangagwa completed his tour of Belarus with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Justice in Belarus.

The agreement was signed at Minsk International Airport by VP Mnangagwa in his capacity as the overseer of the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary ministry and Belarus Minister of Justice, Mr Oleg Slizhevsky.

Under the MOU, the two ministries will coordinate legal issues, legislative systems and the exchange of delegations and expertise. Speaking soon after the signing ceremony, VP Mnangagwa said the MOU would further enhance bilateral ties between Harare and Minsk.

The Belarus minister said the agreement was a first step in more things to come.