Local trade development and promotion organization, ZimTrade has been nominated for the “Best Use of Partnership” category at the World Trade Promotion Organization (WTPO) Awards to be held in October this year.
This is the first time ZimTrade and Zimbabwe have been nominated for such an award.
One of the partnerships that motivated for ZimTrade’s nomination underlies the “Best Model Farm” project, currently being implemented in partnership with the Netherlands based PUM and Netherlands Embassy in Zimbabwe started in 2016.
“ZimTrade partnered with PUM Senior experts of the Netherlands in an agreement to facilitate the access to expertise for local companies in Zimbabwe. The agreement covered a wide range of sectors, but horticulture was prioritised due to its potential for export growth. ZimTrade launched Best Model Farm project in 2019 after signing an MOU with PUM, a Netherlands based organization of senior expert consultants,” ZimTrade said in a statement.
Under the program, three model farms were selected in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Midlands in support of devolution, which are the core of this pilot project.
The Best Model Farm project, ZimTrade and its partners are working with selected exporting farms to on board smallholder farmers in production of high value crops. This will ultimately increase volume of the country’s exports and reduce cost of freight.
“The project seeks to boost horticultural exports by small holder farmers through various capacity development initiatives, including technical intervention trainings by local and international experts,” it said.
Since 2004, the WTPO Awards have been recognizing outstanding trade promotion organizations practices, promoting success, innovation, and the sharing of excellence.
