HARARE, Shawwal 14, 1436, Jul 30, 2015, SPA -- Zimbabwe's government halved its economic growth forecast to 1.5 percent this year from 3.2 percent, blaming a drought that has hit agriculture, and announced plans to halve its wage bill as government revenues are squeezed, Reuters reported. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in a half-year budget statement that contributions from mining, tourism, construction, manufacturing and finance would be offset by the slump in agriculture, Zimbabwe's biggest contributor to GDP. The drought has cut output from agriculture by 8.2 percent while weak mineral prices have hit platinum output. "Deceleration in overall economic growth signifies the contribution of agriculture, and the need for drought-proofing the economy given adverse effects of climate changes," he told parliament. --SPA 21:11 LOCAL TIME 18:11 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w