Agric inputs scheme gets thumbs up

were to receive meaningful assistance from the Government.
The farmers said placing the ministry in the Office of the President would see the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces assisting the minister to identify priority areas to receive scarce resources.
The farmers’ remarks were triggered by the unveiling of an estimated US$20 million farming package for the 2012-2013 agricultural season last Saturday by President Mugabe.
The package will benefit over 800 000 households countrywide.
This is the third time that President Mugabe has sourced farming inputs for disadvantaged farmers to assist them achieve food security at household level.
The inputs included seed, fertilisers, pesticides, dipping chemicals and other livestock supplements.
Farmer representatives yesterday commended the President for ensuring that the country did not beg for food from donors like the case in some countries in the region.
The Zimbabwe Farmers Union second vice president Mr Berean Mukwende commended the President for unveiling the farming inputs to disadvantaged farmers on time for them to catch up with the season.
He, however, said the country was supposed to adopt the Malawian example where the Ministry of Finance and Agriculture were placed in the Office of the President if the country was to record surplus in cereals yields.
“We are imploring the President to take the Ministry of Finance and put it in his office. The (former) Malawian President (Bingu wa Mutharika) when he got into office took over the running of the Ministries of Finance and   Agriculture and the country started recording surplus,” he said.
Mr Mukwende said it was amazing that the Ministry of Finance was sending the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority officials to pursue soya bean farmers demanding Value Added Tax yet Treasury was unwilling to finance the sector.
“Soya bean farmers are coming to us saying that Zimra is garnishing their accounts and they say the money is for VAT. We approached Minister Biti and he said that it was the requirement of the law and the people should pay.
“We have no problems with that, but our issue is why is it they just want to collect money from a sector they do not want to support?” he said.    
The Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Association president Mrs Depinah Nkomo concurred with Mr Mukwende that Government would adequately support farmers if national finance management was placed in the Office of the President.
She said the Finance Ministry was always setting its priorities wrong adding that putting it under the Office of the President would see resources being channelled to critical sectors.
“Given the centrality of the Ministry of Finance to national development, we think the only way it can function properly is when someone gives it directives. There is no way the minister can defy the President,” she said.
Prominent farmer and legislator Cde Edward Raradza said Minister Biti was anti black Zimbabweans, adding that his policies were meant to disadvantage new farmers.
“All his policies show that he is against black Zimbabweans.
“Since land was taken from whites and given to blacks, Minister Biti is now refusing to assist them,” he said. 
The programme launched on Saturday at Zanu-PF Headquarters would see in the first scheme, farmers receiving a 10kg bag of seed maize and a 25kg bag of ammonium nitrate (AN) fertiliser, while the second package consisted of 10kg seed cotton and 25kg AN.
Addressing hundreds of Zanu-PF members, the President castigated Minister Biti and the MDC formations for doing little to support agriculture.