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Elita Chikwati Harare Bureau
FARMERS yesterday said they expect the 2016 national budget to prioritise recapitalisation of the Grain Marketing Board and Agribank to boost agricultural productivity. They said the budget should project agriculture as the backbone of the economy.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union director Paul Zakariya said the government should provide adequate funding to institutions such as the Grain Marketing Board and Agribank for them to fully discharge their obligations.
He said it was important to recapitalise the GMB to ensure farmers were paid on time for grain delivered while funding Agribank would enable the financial institutions to offer affordable loans.
“If it’s true that Zimbabwe’s economy is agro-based, priorities must be set right and the national budget should be directed towards agricultural production,” said Zakariya.
“That means that financial institutions such as Agribank should be well resourced for smallholder farmers to access credit. Resources must also be allocated towards agricultural training and extension,” he said.
“It’s well-known fact that climatic conditions have changed over the years. As such, the risks associated with rain-fed agriculture have significantly increased. Financial resources must be allocated towards deliberate efforts to harvest water that can be used for irrigation,” he said.
Zakariya said the national budget should be sensitive to the issues of infrastructure development like irrigation networks, dams, feeder roads and marketing facilities.
Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Association Trust president Depinah Nkomo said poor payment modalities had forced many farmers to move from maize to cash crops such as tobacco.
“There has been a shift from maize production to other cash crops especially tobacco because of the poor payment modalities of the GMB. The government should ensure there’s enough money to pay farmers who deliver their grain to GMB depots,” said Nkomo.
“The situation could improve if GMB paid farmers cash as was the case in the tobacco sector,” she said.
She also urged the government to channel more funds towards irrigation infrastructure to minimise the effects of climate change.
Nkomo said the government should also consider the use of renewable energy sources like solar as current electricity outages were not conducive for agriculture.
“If these challenges are addressed people will produce food throughout the year and the manufacturing and processing industry will not have to import raw materials,” she said.
Zimbabwe National Farmers Union vice president Garikayi Msika said the government should go back to the basics and address the marketing system of grains.
“It’s the marketing side that’s failing farmers. The government should rejuvenate GMB to boost production. Food production suffers when there are no clear marketing systems. Production of food crops declined due to the collapse of the GMB,” said Msika.
“Cotton production has also suffered because of the poor marketing system and the government should rejuvenate Cottco,” he said.
Msika said it was important that the government promotes irrigation through affordable systems such as canalling and siphoning.
“Let us go back to basics. The government can construct weirs instead of dams that take long and require a lot of money,” he said.
Farmers have complained over the years about delays by the government to pay for grain delivered to GMB depots. They said the government was funding farmers in other countries through food imports instead of paying local farmers to boost productivity.
Online Reporter