Through economic and technical co-operation agreements signed between Zimbabwe and China in December 2015, Zimbabwe will soon receive around US$6 billion for its national housing delivery and agriculture programmes from China.
US$4 billion will go to farming and the remainder to housing provision, and The Sunday Mail understands Government is finalising the modalities of both projects.
Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Minister Dr Obert Mpofu, who was in China last week to discuss the deals, said the funding and subsequent development would spur economic turnaround and create employment on a large scale.
China, he said, had agreed to open its markets to farm produce from Zimbabwe in a deal that would change the fortunes of rural households.
"We have prioritised agriculture and housing as the most critical projects for economic development. So, we went there to engage the Chinese and if these projects are approved, we are likely to get a substantive amount of money which will turn around the economy.
"We met with our Chinese counterparts in agriculture and commerce; we also met the Vice-President of China and there seems to be goodwill on the part of the Chinese who are also interested in horticulture, beef, citrus fruits and organic products. These products can be supplied to Chinese markets within a day thus we have also engaged them to open their markets for trade in agriculture," Dr Mpofu said.
"Agriculture in Zimbabwe employs 67 percent of the population, which is about 4.2 million people in the production and manufacturing sector. Thus investing in the sector will help in creating more jobs in the country.''
