Tawanda Musarurwa
Senior Business Reporter
Revival of the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) bas moved a gear up, with the board appointing business turnaround strategist Mr Clever Isaya as its new chief executive officer.
The appointment is with effect from July 6, 2020.
Mr Isaya takes over from acting chief executive Nancy Zitsanza.
The AMA chief executive is an accomplished business turnaround strategist with over 18 years combined industry experience acquired in manufacturing, ICT, telecommunications and financial technology sectors.
A firm believer in digital transformation and innovation as key business drivers, Mr Isaya is expected to drive the digitalisation of AMA.
He has held different management roles in Cairns Foods (Pvt) Ltd; Econet Wireless (Pvt) Ltd as well as at NetOne Cellular (Pvt) Ltd, where he was part of the executive management team in the positions of executive — products & services and acting chief operating officer respectively.
“Mr Isaya has demonstrated throughout his career the ability to work successfully in different environments, designing and leading strategies which resulted in impressive value creation.
“We look forward to working with him in creating the next chapter of the AMA story and contribute to the realisation of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 goals,” said board chairman Mr Allan Majuru.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Gloucestershire (UK), Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree (Marketing) NUST and Telecoms Mini MBA.
Last October, Government appointed a new board for AMA, chaired by ZimTrade chief executive officer Mr Majuru.
The Mr Majuru-led board has left no stone unturned in efforts to revive the authority.
AMA is moving towards digital solutions that will allow the organisation to service the nation amid disruptions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has disrupted the authority’s planned activities that depended on interface with producers and merchants of agricultural products.
Mr Majuru said this development is in line with global practices that have seen companies turning to virtual options.
“We need to appreciate the new reality and come up with swift measures that will allow AMA to remain relevant during and even after the pandemic,” said the chairman.
“The reality is that adoption of digital solutions will make it easy for the organisation to interface with all stakeholders interested in agriculture, which in turn, will result in improved service.”
The newly appointed CEO says AMA will play its role in bolstering efforts to digitalise Zimbabwe’s agriculture by improving infrastructure and delivery systems essential for food production, trade and supply chains.
“AMA is set to use digitalisation to promote accessibility of supplies essential for agriculture operational activities, reaching farmers with advisory, markets, financial, and supply chain services — all essential lifelines during these difficult times,” said Mr Isaya.
AMA was established through the Agricultural Marketing Authority Act Chapter (18:24) in 2004 and is mandated with overall regulation of the production and marketing of all agricultural products in the country.