The Sunday Mail
Livingstone Marufu and Epsiya Chigumbura
THE Grain Marketing Board (GMB)’s operations are set to benefit from the command agriculture scheme as the total produce will go to the marketing board. Over two million tonnes of grain are expected to be delivered to over 80 GMB depots dotted across the country. Experts argue that if the programme is successful as expected, the country will be able to save the millions of dollars that Government is spending on grain imports.
The money will be channelled towards the payment of farmers.
The deputy minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Development responsible for Cropping Davis Marapira told The Sunday Mail Extra that the scheme will transform the whole agriculture sector, including GMB’s operations.
“Command agriculture won’t just change how our selected farmers are going to grow their crops but also the way our marketing board operates as far as efficiency and professionalism is concerned.
“The scheme is going to be very strict from start to finish, especially the delivery side of the grain. The country will be assessing if the farmers have reached the set targets,” he said. The duputy minister said the scheme needs straightforward farmers who can stick to their contracts.
“In this programme, we don’t tolerate any side-marketing. We need each farmer to first deliver his or her 1000 tonnes to the market then take the surplus for personal use if there is any.
“You can be a very good farmer, but if you sell your cereals somewhere else, we will certainly disqualify you. We only accommodate professional farmers with good ethics, people who can religiously follow their contract obligations,” he said.
The ministry is in the process of selecting the 2000 farmers that will participate in the scheme. Assessors are mainly checking production and debt records to determine eligibility, and feedback to the farmers will be swift to ensure rapid resource deployment.
The selected farmers are expected to produce at least two million tonnes of grain annually. Each farmer is supposed to produce at least 1 000 tonnes of grain, with 400 000 hectares earmarked for the scheme, guaranteeing the two million tonnes annually.
Participants will retain the surplus.
Under the US$500 million scheme, fertilizer-producing companies promised to supply over 80 000 tonnes of compound D and top dressing.
Outlining the three-year programme in July 2016, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa said those with 100 hectares of land, large water bodies and a minimum of five years’ farming experience will be considered when the final list is compiled.
Deputy minister Marapira said payment for farmers will be on delivery.
“Farmers should be excited by this good news, they will be paid on delivery since the millions we are using to import the maize will be directed towards their payments.”
“This is expected to bring wholesome changes in the operations of the GMB. The scheme will be monitored by a task force of over five ministries,” he said.
The task force includes the Ministries of Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement and that of Environment, Water and Climate.
The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Mr Wonder Chabikwa applauded the development, saying farmers will certainly benefit from the scheme.
