Govt, Harare City on collision course

09 Oct, 2016 - 01:10 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Livingstone Marufu
Government has spent at least US$75,6 million paying farmers for about 195 000 tonnes of maize delivered through the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) in the just ended agriculture season.In an interview last week, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister Davis Marapira said the payments enabled farmers to make early preparations for the 2016-2017 summer cropping season.He said farmers were being paid within 14 days of delivering the staple grain.
“To date, we have received a total of 195 000 tonnes from farmers and we have paid them US$75,6 million. We have managed to timely pay them to reduce inconveniences ahead of the summer season which is around the corner.
“We are happy with the grain deliveries so far, we have been receiving between 3 000 and 4 000 tonnes of maize daily.
“We hope farmers will continue with these deliveries, which have helped in reducing the grain import bill in the past three to four months,” said deputy minister Marapira.
He said the deliveries have seen the country sit on 317 000 tonnes of maize as strategic grain reserve.Zimbabwe has been importing maize to supplement its local supplies that have been low as a result of a drought that hit the country last season.
Deputy Minister Marapira said Government is putting in place necessary measures to ensure the success of the forthcoming season.
He said Government efforts are being complemented by fertiliser companies that are reducing the prices of their products.
“Fertiliser companies have managed to reduce their prices from around US$600 per tonne to US$500 per tonne for basal fertiliser and top dressing has been reduced from around US$650 per tonne to US$550 per tonne. “The prices are reasonably lower than last year’s, but we wanted them to be reduced further,” he said.
Meanwhile, the distribution of agricultural inputs under the Presidential Input Scheme has begun in all eight rural provinces.
The scheme, which targets about 1,4 million communal farmers and vulnerable families, will complement the special Command Agriculture programme under which Government is expected to finance 400 000 hectares of the maize crop this season.
The Presidential Input Scheme and Command Agriculture are meant to improve food security at both household and national levels.
Government has started deliveries of fertilizer to GMB depots in all provinces in Mashonaland and the programme is now expected to move to Midlands Province. Under the Presidential Input Scheme, targeted farmers will receive two 50kg bags of fertiliser (compound D and AN) and 10kg of maize seed or 5kg of small grain.
The scheme also covers 400 000 cotton farmers.
With better rains expected, Government pledges to mobilise more resources for these schemes with China having pledged to provide 9 000 tonnes of Urea.

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