Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
President Mnangagwa launched the Presidential Youth Empowerment Revolving Fund aimed at providing financial support to youth-led income-generating projects at Harare International Conference Centre on March 20 this year. The initiatives are part of the Government’s broader efforts to drive economic development and support youth empowerment. — Picture: Believe Nyakudjara. 
Theseus Shambare-Herald Reporter
President Mnangagwa has handed over 72 tractors and 10 combine harvesters sourced from Belarus with a combined value of US$7,4 million to youths to boost their participation in agriculture.
He also announced a complementary initiative worth US$10 million to set up irrigation systems for Youth Business Units, as he delivers on his promise to facilitate young people’s participation in the economy.
At the handover ceremony, which took place at the Agricultural Mechanisation Facility in Hatcliffe, Harare, yesterday, President Mnangagwa pledged to pay 50 percent of the total cost for the cutting-edge equipment from his own pocket.
The latest initiative is a follow up to the Presidential Youth Empowerment Revolving Fund which was launched by the President at the Harare International Conference Centre.
The Government is buying tractors from Belarus to resell to farmers under flexible financing terms through Empower Bank.
The programme also comes with a three-year repayment period, no collateral and an interest rate of 7,5 percent per annum.
For the Youth Mechanisation Facility, the President is paying US$3,7 million from his own pocket and youths will pay the balance.
Farmers accessing the facility will receive heavy-duty tractors, including the 81, 107, 130 and 155 horsepower models.
Overall, this year, the country will take delivery of 800 units of advanced farm equipment from Belarus, including over 700 tractors.
Officiating at the event yesterday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said the equipment is intended to be distributed among youth business clusters as part of the Government’s broader strategy to modernise agriculture and create employment opportunities for young people.
“I appreciate and know the role of mechanisation as an enabler of agricultural modernisation, and accelerating agricultural transformation.
“It is in this regard that today we gather here to formally hand over 72 tractors and two of 10 combine harvesters availed by the President, His Excellency Dr ED Mnangagwa, to accelerate the transformation of the agricultural space,” said Dr Masuka.
He outlined the potential impact of the equipment.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka (second from left), Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training Minister Tino Machakaire (second from right), African National Congress Youth League president Collen Malatji (left) and Chief Director in the Ministry of Agriculture Engineer Samuel Edwin Zimhunga (right) walk past the tractors during their handover to youths in Harare yesterday. — Picture: Memory Mangombe.
“With 72 tractors, you can till on average, we say, one horsepower per one hectare . . . so, 72 tractors are able to do 7 700 hectares.
“So, it is an additional area that we want tilled for agriculture starting this winter and more importantly going into summer,” Dr Masuka said.
He further projected that the initiative could yield substantial returns.
“And once this area has been tilled, my expectation is that being youth, your average yield will be nowhere near or less than five tonnes per hectare and with two crops a year, it means that these tractors will enable 77 000 metric tonnes of grain to be delivered to the Grain Marketing Board and other marketers. My expectation therefore is that the value addition as a result of this intervention will be US$26 million,” Dr Masuka said.
The minister stressed the importance of accountability and proper utilisation of the equipment.
“These tractors ought to be used for the specified purpose. The President said these are not charitable gifts. These go into defined youth business clusters through the right channels of a business. Long gone are the days where Government used to distribute tractors and there was no accountability.”
The US$10 million irrigation support, he said, is channelled through the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), and seeks to complement the recent distribution of farm equipment and boost youth participation in agriculture.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) evening, we had a discussion with the President regarding the US$10 million for irrigation support for youths to complement these efforts and that money is now going to be available through AFC and we will be making an announcement shortly.
“We also hope that Empower Bank will be able to participate so that in addition to getting the tractors, they are now also able to get accelerated irrigation development assistance,” said Dr Masuka.
The irrigation funds, he said, are intended to provide young farmers with the necessary resources to implement efficient and sustainable farming practices, particularly in light of climate change and fluctuating rainfall patterns.
Youth Empowerment Development and Vocational Training Minister Tino Machakaire expressed gratitude for the President’s initiative and emphasised that the equipment should be used specifically for agriculture.
“This equipment must benefit the youths and the nation at large through agriculture production as we strive to achieve food security,” said Minister Machakaire.
Receiving the equipment, provincial youths’ representatives thanked the President for fulfilling his pledge.
African National Congress party of South Africa Youth League president, Cde Thlologelo Collen Malatji, witnessed the handover ceremony.
He described the initiative as a milestone in capacitating young people.
“We expect other leaders to take a leaf from President Mnangagwa’s generosity in investing in future leaders. An empowered youth will be able to protect and safeguard the country’s interests without being compromised by national detractors,” he said.
Zanu PF National Youth League Secretary General Cde Tendai Chiwetu said youths are grateful to President Mnangagwa for the empowerment initiative.
“We have never seen this type of empowerment before. As the Youth League, we look forward to the sustainability of the project. I would also want to thank the leadership of Minister Machakaire for ensuring no one and no place is left behind as the President always says,” he said.
Harare Province Zanu-PF Youth Chairman Cde Emmanuel Mahachi said the empowerment initiative is responsive to the calls made by young people for empowerment.
“Youths make up over 60 percent of the national population and it will not be ideal to ignore such an important demographic on issues to do with food security and economic empowerment,” he said.
Matabeleland South Zanu-PF provincial youth chairman Cde Moses Langa said the equipment will go a long way in ensuring the province boosts livestock production.
“We require tractors in our livestock production and these modern tractors are a key input. Indeed, we will utilise them for the betterment of the sector,” he said.
Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial secretary for legal affairs Cde Decide Mananzva said the province will ensure that only youths in agriculture will benefit.
“As we have promised the President before, for accountability purposes, we will ensure that only those who are active in agriculture benefit. This is not mining equipment but agriculture,” he said.
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