admin
The Herald, July 31, 1981
THERE must be a revolution in the Agricultural Finance Corporation’s policies before any meaningful change can take place in the peasant and small-scale commercial agricultural sectors, the Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rural Development, Dr Sydney Sekeramayi told the ZNFU congress.
“I believe the necessary steps to achieve this situation have been taken by the Ministry of Agriculture,” he said.
Dr Sekeramayi said one of the major obstacles to African advancement in the agricultural sector had been the policies, regulations and procedures of the AFC.
Previous land policies had resulted in a situation whereby most Africans were overcrowded in the communal areas.
Dr Sekeramayi said the Government would no longer continue with the discriminatory practice of earmarking certain areas of the country as African Purchase Areas.
“It is in attempting to solve the problem of rural poverty and landlessness on the part of the people in the rural areas, that the Government’s land reform and rural reform policies have arisen.
“Clearly, to solve the high population densities and landlessness, the Government has to the acquire some land from the commercial sector for redistribution to the peasants.
“The models for resettlement are targeted at a net family of approximately $400,” he said.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
- Agriculture is a business that requires substantial financial outlay to buy things like fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, tractors, water pumps, stock feeds, irrigation equipment, etc. Former white commercial farmers were largely successful because they had access to loans at concessionary rates.
- A financial institution focused on agriculture therefore becomes very handy because its policies and products are tailor-made to suit farmers.
- In 2021, the Government took a deliberate policy to ensure that Agribank continues to play its role of supporting the farmer through a rebranding exercise to AFC Commercial Bank in 2021.
Online Reporter