The UAE imports most of its fresh produce, an ideal market for an agricultural economy such as Zimbabwe. This extends to the entire Arabian Gulf region, which will grow imports of fruits and vegetables to $53 billion by 2020, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The Agricultural Marketing Authority of Zimbabwe (AMA) has been holding countrywide workshops with farmers to highlight this to its members. Some Zimbabwean products are finding their way to the UAE, but through third party exporters.
"Some of our products have been entering the UAE market indirectly through South Africa, so we need to leverage a system where we go directly," says AMA director Maxwell Chikanda.
Should Zimbabwe provide consistent quality, the UAE could in time become a steady importer of its goods.
Finding new markets is crucial to a country of about 8 million people and an unemployment rate of 80 per cent. Currently around 70 per cent of Zimbabweans make their living from the agricultural sector, according to a study by the economics department of North West University South Africa (NWUSA). Many of these are barely subsisting off patches of land from which they grow food with a little extra to sell.
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Read more:
Zimbabwe applies to rejoin Commonwealth
Africa wants the same opportunity as the West had to develop
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Agriculture contributes around 15 per cent of gross domestic product. In addition, it contributes more than 40 per cent of national export earnings, a figure likely to climb as the country re-establishes itself in the global market.
The country possesses large mineral deposits ranging from diamonds, gold, platinum and coal. Mining however requires large capital investment and can take years to develop. The current mining firms in the country are also constrained by lack of adequate power and poor railway infrastructure that will limit increased production for some time to come.
However, farming offers the quickest route to economic growth if it can jumpstart the sector again. Up until the land seizures began in 2001, Zimbabwe produced around 5 per cent of Africa's maize. Today, it contributes less than 2 per cent of Africa's total, according to the NWUSA study.
In another study, The Zimbabwe Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper notes that more than 90 per cent of rural people live in extreme poverty.
With investment, the agricultural sector could flourish. The country's ripe soil raises flourishing cash crops like tobacco, paprika, fruits, flowers and beef exports. Realising its potential, though, depends heavily on how new president Emmerson Mnangagwa handles the thorny issue of land tenure.
The 4,000 or so white farmers pushed off their land over the past two decades are unlikely to be reinstated; doing so would entail a huge relocation of millions of people who settled on the abandoned farms. However, Mr Mnangagwa has told those who remain that they are now safe from expropriation, while inviting others to return.
Farmers who have clung on have generally did so by striking informal deals with local people, sharing parts of their land as well as expertise and equipment, in exchange for a tenuous security to be allowed to keep producing.
In the meantime, Mr Mnangagwa seems eager to put as much distance between his administration and the chaos of his predecessor Robert Mugabe.
"Zimbabwe has lagged behind in many areas as a result of isolation for the past 16, 18 years," Mr Mnangagwa told business leaders in Davos, Switzerland earlier this year. "Now we are saying to the world: Zimbabwe is now open for business."
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
RESULTS: 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING - EUROPE
Albania 0 Italy 1
Finland 2 Turkey 2
Macedonia 4 Liechtenstein
Iceland 2 Kosovo 0
Israel 0 Spain 1
Moldova 0 Austria 1
Serbia 1 Georgia 0
Ukraine 0 Croatia 2
Wales 0 Ireland 1
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Fixtures - Open Men 2pm: India v New Zealand, Malaysia v UAE, Singapore v South Africa, Sri Lanka v England; 8pm: Australia v Singapore, India v Sri Lanka, England v Malaysia, New Zealand v South Africa
Fixtures - Open Women Noon: New Zealand v England, UAE v Australia; 6pm: England v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
THREE
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
