The Sunday Mail
Lack of funding will destroy agriculture resulting in food production going down forcing the country to import maize from neighbouring countries whose farmers are heavily subsidized – Picture by Kudakwashe Hunda
Emilia Zindi – Agriculture Editor
The upcoming 2015 /16 summer cropping season recently came under the spotlight in the National House of Assembly when Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, Cde Paddy Zhanda said that A2 farmers are expected to source their own funds as Government can no longer provide free inputs.
This comes at a time when Government has not availed farming loans through Agribank for the past decade.
The deputy minister’s remarks have received harsh reactions from stakeholders. Most of them are infuriated and said that contrary to Cde Zhanda’s notion that the farmers have been receiving free inputs, A2 farmers have been receiving subsidised inputs from the Government.
Zimbabwe Indigenous Commercial Farmers Union president, Mr Wonder Chabikwa said it was unfortunate that such statements came from a deputy minister when the sector expects him to push for its recovery.
“We need to correct these statements made in our August House as this could lead to the pushing of wrong policies.
“A2 farmers have never been given anything for free since they applied for land. Secondly, A2 farmers are not asking for freebies.
“This must send a clear message to our legislators,’’ said Mr Chabikwa.
He said from the onset of the land reform programme, A2 farmers have been accessing subsidised inputs. These include fuel, fertilisers and seeds.
While Zimbabwe has not been the only country affected by droughts and economic challenges, other countries in the region have been subsidising inputs and creating insurance covers to protect their farmers.
Sadly for the Zimbabwean farmers, many have not been able to access bank loans since they do not have collateral.
The loans come with interest rates averaging 20 percent.
“We hear statements which are detrimental to the revival of the sector, thereby leaving us wondering where we are headed in terms of reviving our agriculture,’’ said Mr Chabikwa.
He also stressed that the country must be forward looking if the agricultural sector is to succeed.
“We cannot continue reflect ing on the past.
“If a farmer had ZW$6 million in 2000, should he or she continue using that money to finance farming operations? Of course not, we need to look at the present and future.
“All sectors were affected by dollarisation and the agriculture sector is no exception,’’ he argued.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union President Mr Abdul Nyathi echoed the same sentiments and discouraged the pronouncement of misleading statements.
“What we expect are subsidised inputs. In Africa alone subsidy levels are from 30 to 50 percent.
“If we go to Europe it is even bigger. Interest rates that are being charged on farming loans are not agricultural rates.
“We go back to the period of the white farmers and see that they were charged a mere 2 percent per annum with financial institutions funding the sector,’’ he said.
“That is what the A2 farmers are asking for.
“Asking farmers to source their own funds is just as good as destroying the land reform programme,’’ he said.
Mr Nyathi said a holistic approach towards revival of agriculture is required as agriculture supports all the other sectors.
“Even big industries have been struggling.
“That is the same thing with the agriculture sector, it needs funding’’ said Mr Nyathi.
“Government has done so with SMEs, it should do the same with agriculture. Land reform programme is about farmers’ productivity.
“Therefore Government assistance will forever be needed in this key sector,’’ he said.
A legal practitioner who represented Zimbabwe at the SADC Tribunal where white farmers were challenging the acquisition of their farms, Mr Gerald Mlotshwa, said the single biggest reason crippling A2 farmers was the lack of funding.
He said black farmers have been able to demonstrate their ability to boost economic growth despite the challenges they are facing and therefore they deserve support.
