Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Zimbabwean counterpart on (a) steps to improve democracy and (b) support for the domestic production of food in that country.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government continues to stress the importance of political and governance reform and respect for human rights to the Government of Zimbabwe. The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) discussed these issues with Zimbabwean Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa on 5 July. He also raised the economic situation and land reform policy, which have a direct impact on Zimbabwe’s agricultural capabilities. The UK’s Livelihoods and Food Security Programme is providing over 130,000 farmers with training in the application of new agricultural technologies and management practices in crop and livestock production, including promoting the production of bio-fortified food crops. The programme is working with the private sector to offer agricultural inputs and outputs services to smallholder farmers, as well as improving agri – businesses and smallholder farmer access to finance.
