The Government of Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), today, commissioned the largest livestock semen processing and cryopreservation centre in Zimbabwe 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), Hon. Dr. Anxious Masuka.

The centre, second largest in Southern Africa, has a 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 cryopreservation of semen from valuable livestock breeds, including indigenous and locally adapted breeds. 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.

Guest of honour at the event, Hon. Minister Dr. Anxious Masuka noted this milestone as a giant step towards attaining food security in Zimbabwe.

“This centre is among the Ministry’s efforts towards 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.

Minister Masuka also remarked “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”.

The guest of honour 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 Government’s thrust to achieve the climate adaptation milestones as outlined in the country’s Revised Nationally Determined Contributions, he added.

Innovation Platforms
Matopos Research Institute is one of five innovation platforms established by the Climate Resilient Livelihoods project to promote adoption of climate-smart agriculture technologies.

In addition to the livestock semen processing and cryopreservation centre, the innovation platform is focusing on improving access to livestock nutrition through fodder production, feed formulation and agroforestry; and on production and multiplication of traditional seed.

Climate Resilient Livelihoods project
The Climate Resilient Livelihoods projects is a seven-year initiative (2020-2027) that seeks to help vulnerable communities, especially women, in southern Zimbabwe to cope with the effects of climate change on their agricultural livelihoods by overcoming technical, financial, and capacity barriers they face.

It is funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), co-funded and implemented by the Government of Zimbabwe, and managed by UNDP.