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Herald Correspondent

The Zanu PF Youth League has urged youths to deploy their skills to ensure the country is well fed.

This was said by Zanu PF acting deputy national Secretary for Youth Affairs, Cde Tendai Chirau, yesterday during a tour of KVD Livestock Consultancy and Services in Harare as part of commemorations of the International Youth Day.

The commemorations ran under the theme, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”.

KVD Livestock Consultancy and Services is run by 24-year-old Mr Davidzo Chizhengeni, an animal science graduate from the University of Zimbabwe who is engaged in organic farming, agriculture training and research, vermiculture and vermicomposting, maggot and rabbit production, among other innovative farming solutions.

Cde Chirau said he was impressed that youths were transforming food systems in Zimbabwe through innovative solutions.

“The theme for this year is emphasising on youth innovation and it is also emphasising on dwelling on the issue of transformation of food systems,” he said.

“We are here on the ground to interface with Chizhengeni who is in this case able to create innovations to do with food systems. We are encouraging other youths to be able to use their skills to ensure that we have better systems to do with food.

“We are also happy that universities have set up innovation hubs and this is a new feature under the New Dispensation, which is encouraging youth innovation. We also realised that the Government itself introduced conservation agriculture which we also call Pfumvudza and we saw a lot of youths getting land.”

Cde Chirau said they were happy that there were universities and vocational training centres that were coming up with solutions to improve  agriculture, a development that will boost food security.

“We have seen that the New Dispensation is prepared to assist young people with innovation and we are aware that the Government through His Excellency President Mnangagwa said that at least 20 percent of the land must go to the youths. 

“The youths can do it and they can do much and can also continue to do the innovation that they so desire,” he said.

Zanu PF Youth League Secretary for Production, Cde Christine Taruona said young people have the power to work for themselves.

“I would like to encourage all the young women in this country to work together in building our nation,” she said.

The National Association of Youth Organisations (NAYO), an umbrella body for youth organisations working in Zimbabwe, implored the Government to increase funding and technical support towards technology hubs.

It also called on tertiary institutions to scale up innovations on food systems, climate change mitigation and youth enterprise development.