Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector has the potential to contribute more towards the growth of national exports.
The National Export Strategy, launched by President Mnangagwa in 2019, identifies the horticulture sector as a priority for export development and promotion.
That is why the Second Republic has since launched the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan, whose priority is to stimulate “export growth to trigger foreign exchange earnings and employment creation taking advantage of the available more lucrative markets for Zimbabwean products”.
To ensure that the Recovery and Growth Plan achieves its intended goal of stimulating domestic production and exports, there is a need to focus on products that have a high demand across the world.
Organic farming is generally understood to be an agricultural practice that aims to produce food using natural substances and processes.
This means that organic farming has a limited impact on the environment because it encourages the responsible use of energy, natural resources, maintenance of biodiversity, preservation of regional ecological balances, enhancement of soil fertility, and maintenance of water quality.
In the meantime, Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture has denied rumors questioning the quality of watermelons sold in the nation’s markets. In a statement, it explains that the fruit complies with all safety standards and food sanitation.
“All the tests carried out show a total absence of contaminants from this fruit,” including pesticide residues, heavy metals, and bacteria, the ministry said.
By June 20, Morocco had exported 218,000 tons of watermelons during this year’s agriculture campaign. The statistics come in response to the rumored decline in Moroccan fruit exports due to the quality of the country’s products.
The statement from the ministry came just a few months after Morocco’s National Office of Sanitary Safety of Food Products (ONSSA) dismissed similar claims about the quality of watermelons produced in Morocco.
Watermelons are highly consumed in Morocco during the summer season, but the country also exports a sizable portion of its production. According to recent data compiled by Hortoinfo,
Moroccan watermelons are outperforming Algeria’s products in European markets, including in France and the Netherlands.
