Flying in Mrewa

Chamisa was mocked a few weeks ago when he spoke of airstrips in Mrewa. It is sad when a nation loses its ability to dream and see the bigger picture. What Chamisa spoke of is not an illusion or far of dream, it is a vision of things that can be achieved, that have been achieved by the previous administrations. Admittedly, roads need to be fixed, schools and hospitals need re equipping, but that doesn’t take away from the contribution that aviation can make to a growing economy. 

The Emiratis have built a whole economy and nation around aviation. They have built an aviation sector that supports their vision for tourism, transport and logistics and the grow of their region. Today, most long haul flights make a stop in Dubai Qatar or UAE. Aviation needs to play an integral role in the development of Africa. There are simple things that aviation contributes, such as crop dusting, fire fighting and  cloud seeding which support the agricultural sector. Bringing markets close to farmers, is essential for the growth of agriculture and should be at the forefront of development of the sector. In as much as road transport is sufficient, air can provide the speed and connectivity that will grow the industry.

Below is a clip of a quick turn around by a pilot in New Zealand. No infrastructure required, just a pilot and plane doing a quick turn around.

Agri loans at CBZ

“This year close to $50 million has been advanced in terms of agriculture, but again focusing on people with irrigation and on people with solid supply of inputs farmers with off-take arrangements. We are working with thousands of farmers. It’s a lot I cannot give you the figures,” he said.

Last year, CBZ funded winter wheat production and Nyemudzo said the group would provide funding for the crop this year.

“Land tenure is an issue being addressed at national level, most of our farmers are being asked to bring alternative security-land, building and insurance that is quite acceptable,” Nyemudzo said.

He said there was no limitation on the availability of funding, but the ability of farmers to sell and withstand weather hazards for instance when they have irrigation.

During the year ended-December 31, 2015 the group advances stood at $1 billion. The agriculture sector accounted for 29% of the group’s advances followed by distribution (20%), services (18%) and private sector (15%), among others. The group said it was committed to providing funding to critical sectors of the economy.

In the outlook, Nyemudzo said the group was targeting a 12,5% increase in deposits and a two percentage point increase in income.

The group posted an increase in after tax profit of 6,7% to $35,2 million during the full year 2015 from $33 million realised in the previous year.

 

Source: newsday