Published by the government of Zimbabwe
24 August 2007
Harare — THE Government is currently engaged in talks with a South African company that has expressed interest to supply Zimbabwe with tractors and other farming equipment under the agricultural mechanisation programme.
Speaking after meeting John Deere senior managers Mr Lucas Groenwel and Mr William Boikutso in Harare yesterday, the Minister of Agricultural Engineering and Mechanisation, Cde Joseph Made, said John Deere was interested in helping Zimbabwe through offering technical support and machinery.
"John Deere is a supplier of agricultural machinery, equipment and tools. The company's South African operation and its partners in the United States of America have seen Africa presenting opportunities.
"They are expanding in South Africa and have also targeted Zimbabwe, expressing their wish to be part and parcel of feeding the country.
"The company took some time to outline where they were coming from and I have also informed them on our Zimbabwe situation," he said.
Cde Made said his ministry was in need of planters as some tractors were already available.
He said John Deere was also interested in supplying the planters.
Cde Made said they had discussed the possibilities of a credit facility but could not give details as his ministry only dealt with technical mechanisation issues.
"The two managers will have to meet with the monetary authorities over the financial side of the deal," he said.
Mr Groenwel said Zimbabwe was their next big project after working successfully with Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique.
"We want to help Zimbabwe regain its breadbasket status by proving tractors, farming equipment and technical support," he said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
