By Shadreck Gurenje

It is an acknowledged fact that up to 70 percent of the citizens of Zimbabwe still reside in rural areas. Vision 2030, which seeks to create an upper middle income society by 2030 will not be achieved if special attention is not given to the development of rural areas.  

The vision of President Emmerson Mnangagwa is to correct the perception that rural areas are peripheral to the economic development of the country. In the Second Republic, there has been a paradigm shift whereby there is greater focus on the development of the rural economy. The President has repeatedly articulated that a modern economy requires modern infrastructure. It is for this reason that greater emphasis is being put on rehabilitating the rural road network and revamping clinics and schools. Furthermore, the President has directed the Ministry of Local Government to come up with an organized and well planned rural housing model. The rural electrification programme has been resuscitated and greater focus is being put on availing solar energy to rural communities.

The thrust of the Second Republic is to effect a fundamental structural change in the governance of the country by embracing and implementing devolution. Devolution will enable the various provinces to have a greater say and control over natural resources that are found in their jurisdictions. Access to these resources will enable the provinces to commit funds to the development of their respective areas

As things stand the major economic activities in rural areas include agriculture (crop and livestock) and artisanal mining. There is very little manufacturing and industrial activity taking place in rural areas. This situation will not be allowed to continue as more focus will be put on value addition with a view to qualitatively improving the incomes of rural based economic players.

Agriculture has remained the major economic activity in rural Zimbabwe. Farming has, however failed to transform in a qualitative way the lives of ordinary people in the rural areas due to a number of factors, chief among them low productivity, poor infrastructure as well as the fact that there is very little value addition taking place

Government remains seized with the requirement to bail the agricultural sector through modernization and mechanization of rural agriculture. A programme to avail agricultural machinery such as tractors and ploughs is being rolled out. Dam construction and irrigation development are priority areas.

Command agriculture, which has enabled the country to be self sufficient in its maize needs, will continue to be rolled out. The programme now covers wheat, soya beans, tobacco, beef and fish production. Command Agriculture has transformed the lives of farmers and will continue to be implemented.

Artisanal mining has equally played a critical role in rural development. Artisanal mining is basically carried out in communal areas with less machinery and capital but it has contributed a considerable share to gold production as well as monetary circulation in both rural and urban setups

 Against such a backdrop, the government has taken a commendable stride in ensuring a maximum gain from artisanal mining by legalizing it.

The rural economy is thus poised to be transformed in a very big way and it will play a lead role in realizing vision 2030