A FORTNIGHT ago, Zimbabwe received a delegation from a Versalis company, Novamont SpA, one of Italy’s biggest biochemical companies.
Novamon is also a leader in Europe and in the world for the production of biodegradable and compostable polymers used to manufacture mulching films for agriculture and biodegradable plastic for food packaging and food waste bags. Novamont also produces bio herbicides and bio stimulants that can be applied to a variety of crops including tobacco.
Zimbabwe is the biggest tobacco grower in the region.
The visit was facilitated by Italy’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, Umberto Malnati.
The Novamont delegation held several meetings with high-level representatives of key institutions in the agricultural and environment protection sectors, including with Agriculture minister, Anxious Masuka, the director-general of the Environmental Management Agency, the Agricultural Research Centre, the Tobacco Research Board, the president of Arda, agricultural inputs distributors and other stakeholder of the Zimbabwean economy.
Malnati said the meetings were a step “to materialise the development cooperation strategies expressed under the ‘Piano Mattei’ (Mattei Plan) unveiled during the recent Italy-Africa Summit held in Rome”.
