By Delicious Mathuthu
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe – Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, Honourable Davis Marapira, has emphasized the importance of adopting international standards in the country’s dairy sector to enhance quality, safety and trade, Kwedu News can reveal.
Speaking at the International Dairy Federation, International Standards Organisation (IDF/ISO) Analytical Week 2024 official opening in Victoria Falls on Tuesday (25/06/2024), Hon. Marapira highlighted Zimbabwe’s vision to become a robust and competitive dairy sector, aligned with the National Development Strategy (NDS1) and Vision 2030.
The event brings together the world dairy industry fraternity composed of international, regional and local experts that are in the dairy sciences, laboratory and analytical professionals.
Through the conference, which aims to establish ISO/IDF international standards for the dairy industry, Hon. Marapira urged stakeholders to adopt and utilize these standards to ensure quality and safe milk and milk products.
He emphasized the need to harmonize standards across Africa, citing the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and the African Regional Standards Organization (ARSO) efforts.
“Harmonization can reduce trade costs, streamline processes, and enhance predictability and transparency in intra-African trade,” he said.
“By aligning regulations and standards, the free trade agreement also facilitates compliance and reduces technical barriers to trade.
“The technical working groups meetings which you are undertaking here at this conference are very important aspect of the standards harmonization processes.”
Hon. Marapira commended the public and private sectors for educating and training dairy value chain players on producing quality and safe milk and milk products.
He encouraged dairy farmers to increase quality milk production, processors to produce quality products, and laboratories to test milk and milk products according to these international standards.
The Deputy Minister challenged local dairy scientists and professionals to implement international best practices in the entire dairy value chain.
He said the dairy industry is not left out in the drive to ensure Zimbabwe becomes food self-sufficient, more so, achieving the US$8.2 billion agriculture economy by next year.
“As Zimbabwe seeks to improve food self-sufficiency and retain its regional breadbasket status, the dairy sector plays a crucial role in achieving this vision.
“Zimbabwe is an agro based nation and among several sectors, the dairy sector is a key component of the National Livestock Growth Plan which supports the agenda of the National Development Strategy (NDS1), anchored by the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy which seeks to achieve a US$8,2 billion agriculture economy by 2025 contributing towards Vision 2030.
“To achieve this vision, there is need to implement policies that help to boost the establishment of local markets, including ensuring covering the demand for milk and milk products nationally, regionally and globally, thus self-sustenance with surplus for exports,” Hon. Marapira said.
Present during the opening ceremony was the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Matebeleland North Province, Honourable Richard Moyo; the
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development
Chief Director in the Directorate of Veterinary Services Dr Pious Makaya; Senior Zimbabwe Government Officials; Delegations from the International Dairy Federation (IDF), International Standards Organization (ISO); Representative from the African Regional Standards Organization (ARSO); regional and international guests, local dairy industry leadership and local dairy farmers.
