Zim eyes homegrown grains to cut US$2bn import bill

A HIGH-LEVEL meeting has been called by the Agricultural Marketing Authority and Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS) to discuss ways of reducing Zimbabwe’s grain import bill and the promotion of local alternatives.

The bill, standing at US$2 billion annually, has been described as a national security vulnerability, with local solutions said to be necessary considering a volatile international market that has been hit hard by wars and hostile conflicts.

The strictly by-invitation meeting, which will be attended by senior government officials, captains of industry, financiers, agro-processors and farmer representative bodies, seeks to align strategy and action on the grains and oilseeds value chain localisation.

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