Bulawayo- The Government of Zimbabwe in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has commissioned the largest livestock semen processing and cryopreservation centre at Matopos Research Institute.
The state-of-the-art gene bank equipment, valued at over $400,000, was commissioned by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MLAFWRD), Dr Anxious Masuka, presided over the commissioning.
The centre, the second largest in Southern Africa, has the capacity to process three million livestock semen straws per year.
The cattle semen processing and preservation centre will play a crucial role in preserving genetic diversity through the cryopreservation of semen from valuable livestock breeds, including indigenous and locally adapted breeds.
Minister, Dr Masuka noted this milestone as a giant step towards attaining food security in Zimbabwe.
“This centre is among the Ministry’s efforts towards the attainment of the Agriculture Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy which seeks to increase agricultural productivity for national food security and food sovereignty, regardless of the weather,” he said.
“Our cluster remains a major contributor to key indicators of Zimbabwe’s economy – GDP, employment, growth of the rural economy and inclusive growth, export earnings, import substitution”.
He also appreciated the project partners for establishing a centre that will benefit Zimbabwe and beyond.
Speaking at the ceremony, UNDP Representative Dr. Ayodele Odusola, stated:
“This partnership strengthens Zimbabwe’s national climate resilience agenda. Like much of sub-Saharan Africa, the country faces recurring climatic shocks that severely impact smallholder rain-fed agriculture,
with far-reaching consequences for socio-economic development.
“We believe that this support will complement the Government’s thrust to achieve climate
adaptation milestones as outlined in the country’s Revised Nationally Determined Contributions,” he said.
Matopos Research Institute is a custodian of Zimbabwe’s indigenous breeds (Tuli, Mashona, Afrikander and Nkone) and is availing these elite indigenous animal genetic resources to farmers at an affordable, cost-recovery basis.
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